to 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 

AND 

INTERESTING ANECDOTES 

. or 

PERSONS OF COLOR. 



TO WHICH IB ADDED A 



SELECTION OF PIECES IN POETRY. 



• 



COMPILED BY M MOTT. 



"Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: 

but in eicjj nation, he that feareth him, and worketh rigUeo-.i&f u3% 

is accepted with him."— Acta i. 34, 3o. 



NEW YORK: 

STEREOTYPED FOR AND PRINTED BY ORDER OP THE TRUSTEES 
OP THE RESIDUARY ESTATE OP LINDLEY MURRAY. 

M. DAY, PR1NTT.K, 371 PEAKL BT. 






ADVERTISEMENT. 



Lindley Murray, the Grammarian, and Author of several 
excellent school and reading books, in his last will, bequeathed 
certain funds to Trustees in America, his native country, for 
several benevolent objects, including the gratuitous distribution 
of " books calculated to promote piety and virtue, and the truth 
of Christianity." 

The Trustees have heretofore had " The Power of Religion 
on tho Mmd, in Retirement, Arlliction, and at the Approach of 
Death," stereotyped, and several thousand copies printed and 
distributed ; and they now present to the public tho following 
work, with a belief that it is well calculated to promote the views 
desijnatcd by L. Murray, particularly among the colored popura- 
»ion of our country. 

1839. 



rR dMSFER 
! NOV rji) 1943 






PREFACE. 

The object of this selection is not to set forth the 
exploits of the warrior, who has drenched fields in blood, 
destroyed cities by fire, and their inhabitants by famine ; 
wno has made the mother a widow, and her children 
fatherless, and deprived the aged of their comfort and 
support in declining life. It is not to rehearse the ha- 
rangues, nor to set forth the eloquence of the man of 
science ; but to encourage virtue and morality in the dif- 
rerent classes of society ; and, by briuging into view the 
effects which a system of slavery has on the human 
mind, and the dreadful consequences of that arbitrary 
power invested in the slaveholder over his fellow-being, 
to show how it hardens the heart and petrifies the feel- 
ings. 

No doubt there are some men, who, in early life, and 
oefore they were placed in authority, like Hazael, would 
nave been shocked to hear predicted what they have 
afterward, and under different circumstances, put in 
practice ; but there are others, who, being trained up in 
the midst of slavery, and inured from their infancy to 
see the sufferings of the poor slaves, and to hear their 
cries, become almost insensible to the responsibility of 
their station, and the enormity of the evils they are com- 
mitting. For these, as well as for the slaves, our tender- 
est sympathy ought to be awakened, and our aspirations 
to ascend before Him who can unstop the deaf ear, and 
open the eyes even of those who are blind. 

The design of this selection is also to show the bane- 



IV PREFACE. 

ful effects of that degradation to which the children of 
Africa have, in an especial manner, been subjected by 
the slave trade ; and to exhibit, for encouragement and 
imitation, the salutary and cheering influence of the 
Christian religion on such as have faithfully followed its 
dictates, though some of them have been held in bondage. 

Here we may observe, that it is not the inhabitants of 
any particular country or climate that are the favorites of 
Him who, without respect of persons, judgeth every man 
according to his works, and the integrity of his heart ; 
but it is the faithful, and those only, who can look for- 
ward to the termination of their pilgrimage here, wish, a 
hope that they will then be admitted into the mansions 
of bliss, where the wicked cease from troubling, and the 
weary find rest. 

Some instances will be found, where men, by yielding 
to the convicting power of truth, and the noble feelings 
of justice, have broken the chains of slavery, and said 
to the captive, Go free. May others, by following their 
example, share in the reward attendant on such acts of 
benerolence. And may those persons of color who en- 
joy the inestimable privilege of freemen, either by birth- 
right or by emancipation, always bear in mind, that by 
their good conduct they not only promote their own hap- 
piness, but that tiny advocate the cause of Universal 
Emancipation, by showing to the wurld their . -inability 
of enjoying tin- benefits of society, and providing com- 
fortably for ih> mseli 

In preparing these pieces for the press, I have taken 
the liberty of a'.iridging some of those which have al- 
, eady appeared in print And in some instances, where. 



TREFACE. ▼ 

in the first narration, the character was not fully delin- 
eated or finished, I have supplied that deficiency from 
later writers, or from inquiries of those who had been 
personally acquainted with the individual ; as in the 
cases of Joseph Rachel, Phillis Wheatley, &c. 

Eickory Grove, llth mo. 1825. A. M. 



The following remarks, as well as divers other pieces 
in this selection, are generally taken from " An Inquiry 
into the Intellectual and Moral Faculties of the Ne- 
groes," by Gregorie. 

" Many authors have borne testimony to the pleasant- 
ness and fertility of Africa, and to the generosity and 
filial affection of its inhabitants. In reading Ledyard, 
Lucas, Mungo Park, Hornman. and others, we find that 
the inhabitants of the interior are more virtuous and 
more civilized than those on the sea coast ; surpass them 
also in the preparation of wool, leather, cotton, wood, and 
metals; inweaving, dying, and sewing. Golberry says 
that ' in Africa there are no beggars except the blind.' 

"Adanson, who visited Senegal in 1754, when describ- 
in 0, the country, says, ' It recalled to me the idea of the 
primitive race of men. I thought I saw the world in its 
infancy. The negroes are sociable, humane, obliging, 
and hospitable, and they have generally preserved an 
estimable simplicity of domestic manners. They are 
distinguished by their tenderness for their parents and 
great respect for the aged — a patriarchal virtue, which in 
our day is too little known.' 

" Robin speaks of a slave in Martinico, who, having 

1* 



▼1 PREFACE. 

gained money sufficient for his own ransom, purchased 
with it his mother's freedom. The most horrible out- 
rage that can be committed against a negro, is to curse 
his father or his mother, or to speak of either with con- 
tempt. 

" Btungo Park obseryes, that a slave said to his mas- 
ter, 'Strike me, but curse not my mother.' And that a 
negress having lost her son, her only consolation was, 
that he had never told a lie. Casuaux relates, that a 
negro, seeing a white man abuse his father, said, 'Carry 
away the child of this monster, that it may not learn to 
imitate his conduct.' 

" The Bishop Jacquemin had been twenty-two years 
at Guiana, where he was much beloved. When they 
ceased to employ him as a pastor, those Indians said to 
him, 'Father, thou art aged: remain with us, and we 
will hunt and fish for thee.' 

" Many others might be added from the official depo- 
sitions made at the bar of Parliament, and before the 
select committee of the House of Commons, in England, 
in 1790 and 1791 ; but these may suffice to encourage 
others ti sim acts of piety and filial affection, remem- 
bering a we must expect our children to follow 
our example. 

■ Ab nu hum. ui being can chouse the place of his birth 
or tin adrantagi - of ancestry, so it mani - real folly 
to build our fam< on the virt . rich ft, or honor? of 
those win' have gone before us, or to despise a fellow- 
being on account of the poverty or obscurity of his birth. 
In bo doing, we arraign the goodness of oof < Sreator, and 
act inconsistently trith our dependent situation." 






PART I. 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, 



FRANCIS WILLIAMS, 

Tua son of African parents, was born in Ja- 
meiica, about the year 1700, and died when about 
seventy years of age. Struck with the conspic- 
uous talents of this negro, when he was quite 
young, the Duke of Montague, governor of the 
island, proposed to try whether, by an improved 
education, he would be equal to a white man placed 
in the same circumstances. 

2. He accordingly sent him to England, where 
he commenced his studies in a private school ; and 
he afterward entered the University of Cambridge, 
where he made considerable progress in mathe- 
matics, and other branches of science. 

3. After several years' stay in England, he re- 
turned to Jamaica, where, under the patronage of 
the governor, he opened a school, and taught 



8 JASMIN THOUMAZBAV. 

Latin and mathematics. He also wrote many- 
pieces of Latin poetry ; some of which were pre- 
sented to the governor ; and one of his friends 
says, " We do not find, among the defenders of 
slavery, one half of the literary merit of Phillis 
Wheatley and Francis Williams." 



JASMIN THOUMAZEAU 

Was born in Africa, in 1714, and brought to 
St. Domingo and sold for a slave when he was 
twenty-two years of age ; but afterward obtaining 
his freedom, he married, and in the year 1756 es- 
tablished an hospital, at the Cape, for poor negroes 
and mulattoes. More than forty years were de- 
voted by him and his wife to this benevolent insti- 
tution, and his fortune was subservient to the wants 
of its inmates. 

2. The only regret they felt, while their time 
and substance were devoted to these destitute ob- 
jects, arose from a fear that, after they were gone, 
the hospital might be abandoned. The Philadel- 
phian Society at the Cape, and the Agricultural 
Society at Pans, decreed medals to Jasmin, who 
died near the close of the century. 



IGNATIUS SANCIIO. 9 



IGNATIUS SANCHO. 

The parents of Sancho were brought from Af- 
rica in a vessel employed in the slave trade, and 
he was born on the passage. When they arrived 
at Carthagena, he received the name of Ignatius. 
The change of climate and other sufferings, soon 
brought his mother to the grave ; and his father, 
being doomed to the horrors of slavery, in a mo- 
ment of despair put an end to his existence with 
his own hands. 

2. Ignatius was not two years old when he was 
taken to England by his master, and presented to 
three young ladies, sisters, at Greenwich. His 
character was such that they added the name of 
Sancho ; and he some time after attracted the 
notice of the Duke of Montague. This gentle- 
man admired in him a frankness, which was neither 
degraded by servitude, nor corrupted by a false 
education. He often lent him books, and advised 
his mistresses to instruct him, and improve his 
genius. 

3. But when grown, being subject to like pas- 
sions with other young men, he was led into dif- 
ficulty ; and the duke, his friend, being dead, he 
was at a loss what to do ; but the dutchess, his 
widow, had compassion on him, and employed him 
as her butler, in which situation he remained until 



10 IGNATIUS SANCHO 

her death. By his economy, and a legacy left 
him by this lady, he was in possession of seventy 
pounds sterling, and thirty of an annuity. 

4. After the death of this kind friend, he, wan- 
dering about, often fell into bad company, and was 
reduced to suffering ; but he at length engaged at 
service in a respectable family, and his conduct 
becoming regular, he soon married an interesting 
female born in the West Indies. 

5. In 1773, he had frequent attacks of the gout : 
but, by the generosity of the before-mentioned lady 
in her annuity, and his own economy, he com- 
menced an honest trade ; and by the assistance of 
his wife's industry and frugality, he reared a nu- 
merous family. The public esteem was obtained 
by his domestic virtues. He died on the 15th of 
December, 1780. After his death, a fine edition 
of his letters was published; a few extracts from 
which will close this account. 

6. " According to the plan of the Deity, com- 
merce," says he, " ought to render common to all 
the globe the productions of each country: it 
ought to unite nations by the sentiments of recip- 
rocal wants, of fraternal amity, and thus facilitate 
a genera] diffusion of the benefits of the gospel. 
But those poor Africans whom Heaven has favor- 
ed with a rich and luxuriant soil, are the most un- 
happy of the human race, by the horrible traffic 
in slaves ; and this, too, is performed by Chris- 
tians !" 



IGNATIUS SANCHO. 11 

7. In speaking of the Dutchess of K , tor- 
mented by conscience, the great chancellor of the 
soul, he says, " Act, then, always in such a man- 
ner as to gain the approbation of your heart — 
to be truly brave, one must be truly good. We 
have reason as a rudder, religion for our anchor, 
truth for our polar star, conscience as a faithful 
monitor, and perfect happiness as a recompense." 

8. In the same letter, endeavoring to drive 
away recollections which might expose his virtue 
to a new shipwreck, he exclaims, " Why bring to 
mind those combustible matters, while, rapidly 
glancing over my past years, I approach the end 
of my career ? Have I not the gout, six children, 
and a wife ? Heaven ! where art thou ? 

9. " You see that it is much easier to speak 
than to act. But we know how to separate good 
from evil ; let us arm ourselves against vice, and 
act like a general in his camp, who ascertains the 
force and position of the enemy, and places ad- 
vance guards to avoid surprise : let us act so, even 
in the ordinary course of human life ; and believe 
me, my friend, that a victory gained over passion, 
immorality, and pride, is more deserving of a (e 
Deum than that which is obtained in the field of 
ambition and carnage." 



12 ATTOBAH CUGOANO. 



ATTOBAH CUGOANO 

Was born on the coast of Fantin, in the town of 
Agimaque. He says that he was dragged from 
his country, with twenty other children of both 
sexes, by European robbers, who, brandishing 
their pistols and sabres, threatened to kill them if 
they attempted to run away. " They confined us," 
says he, " and soon I heard nothing but the clang- 
ing of chains, the sound of the whip, and the cries 
of my fellow-prisoners." 

2. In this dreadful situation, he was carried to 
Grenada and made a slave. But Lord Hoth, in 
his generosity, liberated him and carried him to 
England. He was there in 1788, in the service of 
Cosway, the first painter to the Prince of Wales. 
Piatoli, who, during a long residence in London, 
was particularly acquainted with Cugoano, then 
about forty years of age, and whose wife was an 
English woman, praises this African highly ; and 
speaks in strong terms of his piety, his mildness 
of character, modesty, integrity, and talents. 

3. At Grenada, he saw the negroes lacerated by 
the whip, because, instead of working, they went 
to church on Sundays. He saw others have their 
teeth broken, because they dared to suck the 
SUgar-cane. Being a witness to these cruelties, he 
paints the heart-rending spectacle of those poor 



ATTOBAH CUGOANO. 13 

Africans in a moving manner ; describing their 
being forced to bid a final farewell to their native 
soil — to fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, broth- 
ers, and children, and all that they hold dear ; in- 
voking Heaven, bathed in tears ; and enclosed in 
one another's arms, giving the last embrace, and 
instantly torn asunder ! " This spectacle," says 
he, " calculated to move the hearts of monsters, 
does not move that of the slave dealer." 

4. Cugoano published his reflections on the 
slave trade, and the slavery of the negroes, in En- 
glish ; and it has since been translated into French. 
He raised his voice to spread abroad the spirit of 
religion, and to prove by the Bible, that the steal- 
ing, sale, and purchase of men, and their detention 
in a state of slavery, are crimes of the deepest 
die. 

5. After some remarks on the cause of the dif- 
ference of color in the human species, such as cli- 
mate, soil, regimen, &c, he asks whether it is 
" more criminal to be black or white, than to wear 
a black or white coat : whether color and bodily 
form give a right to enslave men. The negroes 
have never crossed the seas to steal white men. 
The European complains of barbarism, while his 
conduct toward negroes is horribly barbarous. 

G. " To steal men — to rob them of their liberty, 
is worse than to plunder them of their goods. On 
national crimes, Heaven sometimes inflicts national 
punishments. Besides, injustice is sooner or later 



14 ATTOBAH CUGOANO. 

fatal to its author." This idea is comformable to 
the great plan of religion, and ought to be indel- 
ibly impressed on every human heart. 

7. Cugoano makes a striking comparison be- 
tween ancient and modern slavery ; and proves 
that the last, which prevails among professing 
Christians, is worse than that among pagans ; and 
also worse than that among the Hebrews, who did 
not steal men to enslave them, or sell them with- 
out their consent ; and who put no fine on the 
head of a fugitive. 

8. In Deuteronomy, xxiii, 15, it is formally said, 
" Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the ser- 
vant which is escaped from his master unto thee." 
He passes from the Old to the New Testament, 
and states the inconsistency of slavery with 
Christ's command to do to others as we would 
they should do to us. 

9. Ill him we sec talents without much literary 
cultivation ; and to which a good education would 
have given great advantage. His writings are not 
very methodical, but they speak the language of a 
feeling heart, and are read with interest by those 
who are averse to slavery. 



PHILLIS WHEAT LEY 15 






PHILLIS WHEATLEY. 

Although the state of Massachusetts never 
was so deeply involved in the African slave trade 
as most of the other states, yet, before the war 
which separated the United States of America 
from Great Britain, and gave us the title of a free 
and independent nation, there were many of the 
poor Africans brought into their ports and sold for 
slaves. 

2. In the year 1761, a little girl about seven or 
eight years old was stolen from her parents in Af- 
rica ; and being put on board a ship, she was 
brought to Boston, where she was sold for a slave 
to John Wheatley, a respectable inhabitant of that 
town. Her master gave her the name of Phillis, 
and she, assuming that of her master, was of coarse 
called Phillis Wheatley. 

3. Being of an active disposition, and very at- 
tentive and industrious, in about sixteen months, 
she learned the English language so perfecdy, that 
she could read any of the most difficult parts of 
the Scriptures, to the great astonishment of those 
who heard her. And this she learned without any 
school instruction, except what was given her in 
the family. 

4. The art of writing she obtained by her own 
industry and curiosity, and in so short a time that, 



16 PHILLIS WHEATLEY. 

in the year 1765, when she was not more than 
twelve years of age, she was capable of writing 
letters to her friends on various subjects. She 
also wrote to several persons in high stations. In 
one of her communications to the Earl of Dart- 
mouth, on the subject of Freedom, she has the 
following lines : — 

5. "Should you, my lord, while you peruse my song, 
Wonder from whence my love of Freedom sprung, 
Whence flow these wishes for the common good. 
By feeling hearts alone best understood — 
I, young in life, by seeming cruel fate, 
Was snntch'd from Afrie's fanci'd happy seat : 
Wliat pangs excruciating must molest, 
What sorrows labor in my parent's breast ! 
Steel'd was that soul, and by no misery moved, 
That from a father seized the babe beloved. 
Such, such my case— and can I then but pray, 
Others may never feel tyrannic sway !'' 

6. In her leisure moments, she often indulged 
herself in writing poetry, and a small volume of 
her composition was published in 1773, when she 
was about nineteen years of age, attested by the 
Governor of Massachusetts, and a number of the 
most respectable inhabitants of Boston, in the fol- 
lowing language : — 

7. " We, whose names arc under written, do 
assure the world that the poems specified in the 
following pages were, (as we verily believe,) writ- 
ten by Pluilis, a young negro girl, who was, but a 
few years since, brought an uncultivated barbarian 



PHILLIS WIIEATLEY 17 

from Africa ; and has ever since been, and now is, 
under the disadvantage of serving as a slave in a 
family in this town. She has been examined by- 
some of the best judges, and is thought qualified 
to write them."* 

8. Her master says, " Having a great inclina- 
tion to learn the Latin language, she has made 
some progress in it." After the publication of the 
little volume mentioned, at about the twenty-first 
year of her age, she was liberated ; but she con- 
tinued in her master's family, where she was much 
respected for her good conduct. Many of the 
most respectable inhabitants of Boston and its 
vicinity, visiting at the house, were pleased with 
an opportunity of conversing with Phillis, and ob- 
serving her modest deportment, and the cultivation 
of her mind. 

9. When about twenty-three, she was married 
to a person of her own color, who, having also 
obtained considerable learning, kept a grocery, and 
officiated as a lawyer, under the title of Dr. 
Peters, pleading the cause of his brethren, the 
Africans, before the tribunals of the state. 

10. The reputation he enjoyed, with his indus- 
try, procured him a fortune ; but Phillis, having 

• Most of her poetical productions have a religious or moral 
cast ; all breathe a soft and sentimental feeling. Twelve relate to 
the death of friends. Others are on the works of Providence ; on 
virtue, humanity, and freedom ; with one to a young painter of 
her own color. On seeing his works, she vented her grief for the 
sorrows of her countrymen, in a pathetic strain. 

2* 



18 PHILLIS WHEATLEY. 

been much indulged, had not acquired a sufficient 
knowledge of domestic concerns ; and her friends, 
by continuing their particular attention to her, gave 
him uneasiness, which, operating on a disposition 
that was not willing to have her more respected 
than himself, first manifested itself by reproaches, 
which were followed by harsh treatment. The 
continuance thereof affecting her susceptible mind 
and delicate constitution, she soon went into a de- 
cline, and died in 1780, about the twenty-sixth 
year of her age, much lamented by those who 
knew her worth. She had one child, which died 
very young ; and her husband survived her only 
three years. 



POOR SARAH. 1 9 



POOR SARAH: 

Or, Religion Exemplified in the Life mid Death of a Pious 
Indian Woman. 

The subject of the following narrative lived and died in a town in 
the eastern part of Connecticut. We are well acquainted with 
the writer, and we can assure our readers that the account here 
given is true. — Editor of the "Religious Intelligencer." 

It was a comfortless morning in the month of 
March, 1814, when I first formed an acquaintance 
with the subject of the following sketch. 

2. She called to solicit a few crusts, meekly 
saying she " deserved nothing but the crumbs — 
they were enough for her poor old body, just ready 
to crumble into dust." I had heard of Sarah, a 
pious Indian woman, and I was therefore prepared 
to receive her with kindness. And remembering 
the words of my Lord, who said, " Inasmuch as 
ye have done it unto one of the least of these my 
brethren, ye have done it unto me," I was ready 
to impart a portion of my little unto her ; (for lit- 
tle, alas ! was my store.) 

3. " And how," I asked her, " have you got 
along, this long, cold winter, Sarah ?" " mis- 
se !" she replied, " God better to Sarah than she 
fear. When winter come on, Sarah was in great 

doubt. No husband, no child here but ; 

she wicked, gone a great deal. What if great 



20 TOOR SARAH. 

snow come ? What if fire go out ? Nabor great 
way off. What if sick all 'lone ? What if I die ? 
Nobody know it. 

4. " While I think so, in my heart, then I cry : 
while I cryin', somethin' speak in my mind, and 
say, ' Trust God, Sarah ; he love his people, he 
never leave them, he never forsake them ; he never 
forsake Sarah, he friend indeed. Go tell Jesus, 
Sarah ; he love hear prayer ; he often hear Sarah 
pray.' So I wipe my eyes ; don't cry any more , 
go out in bushes, where nobody see, fall down on 
my old knees and pray. God give me great many 
words ; pray great while. God make all my mind 
peace. 

5. " When I get up, go in house, can't stop 
prayin' in my mind. All my heart burn with love 
to God ; willin' live cold, go hungry, be sick, die 
all 'lone, if God be there. He know best; Sarah 
don't know. So I feel happy ; great many day go 
singin' Baptist hymn — 

'Now I can trust the Lord for i 
He can clothe, and he can : 
He my rock, and he my Saviour 
Jesus is a friend indeed.' " 

G. " Well, Sarah, have you been comfortably 
supplied?" " O yes," she replied, " I never 
corn meal once all winter." " But how do you 
cook it, Sarah, so as to make it comfortable food ?" 
" O, I make porridge, misse. Sometimes I get 



POOR SARAH. 21 

out, like to day, and I go get some crusts bread 
and some salt put in it, then it is so nourishing to 
this poor old body ; but when can't get none, then 
make it good I can, and kneel down, pray God to 
bless it to me ; and I feel if God feed me, and be 
so happy here :"— (laying her hand on her heart.) 

7. O what a lesson, thought I, for my repining 
heart ! " But do you have no meat or other neces- 
saries, Sarah ?" " Not often, misse ; sometimes I 
get so hungry for it, I begin feel wicked ; then 
think how Jesus hungry in the desert. But when 
Satan tempt him to sin, to get food, he would not. 
So I say, Sarah won't sin to get victuals. I no 
steal, no eat stole food, though be hungry ever so 
long.* 

8. " Then God gives me small look of his self, 
his Son, and his glory ; and I think in my heart, 
they all be mine soon ; then I no suifer hunger 
any more — my Father have there my mansions." 
" Sarah," said I, " you seem to have some knowl- 
edge of the Scriptures ; can you read P " I can 
spell out a little; I can't read like you white folks ; 
O, if I could !" Here she burst into tears. 

9. But after regaining her composure, she 
added, " This, misse, what I want above all things, 
more than victuals or drink. 0, how often I beg 
God teach me to read, and he do teach me some. 
When I take Bible, kneel down and pray, he show 

* This might refer to food stolen by her wicked daughter. 



22 POOR SARAH. 

me great many words, and they be so sweet, I 
want to know a great deal more. 0, when I get 
home to heaven, then I know all ; no want to read 
any more." 

10. In this strain of simple piety, she told me 
her first interesting story. And when she depart- 
ed, I felt a stronger evidence of her being a true 
child of God, than I have acquired of some pro- 
fessors by a long acquaintance. In one of the 
many visits she afterward made me, she gave me, 
in substance, the following account of her conver- 
sion : — She lived, according to her own account, 
until she became a wife and mother, without hope 
and without God in the world, having been brought 
up in extreme ignorance. 

1 1 . Her husband treating her with great severity, 
she became dejected and sorrowful, and to use her 
own simple language, " I go sorrow, sorrow, all day 
long. When the night come, husband come home 
angry, beat me so ; then I think, 0, if Sarah had 
friend ! Sarah no friend. I no want tell nnbor I got 
trouble, that make only worse. So I be quiet, tell 
nobody, only cry ail night and day for one good friend. 

12. "One Sunday, good nabor come, and say, 
1 Come, Sarah, go mcetinV So I call my chil- 
dren, tell 'em stay in house while I go meetin'. 
When got there, minister toll all about Jesus ; how 
he was born in stable, go suiTcr all his life, die on 
great cross, bury, rise, and go up into heaven, to 
be always sinners' friend. He say too, if you got 



POOR SARAH. 23 

trouble, go to Jesus. He best friend in sorrow, he 
cure all your sorrow, he bring you out of trouble, 
he support you, make you willin' suffer. 

13. " So when I go home, think great deal what 
minister say ; think this the friend I want — this 
the friend I cry for so long. Poor ignorant Sarah 
never heard so much about Jesus before. Then I 
try hard to tell Jesus how I want such friend. 
But ! my heart so hard, can't feel, can't pray, 
can't love Jesus, though he so good. This make 
me sorrow more and more. 

14. " When Sunday come, want to go meetin' 
'gain. Husband say, ' You sha'n't go ; I beat you 
if you go.' So I wait till he go off huntin', then 
shut up children safe, and run to meetin' ; sit down 
in door, hear minister tell how bad my heart is — 
no love to God, no love to Jesus, no love to pray. 
So then I see why can't have Jesus for friend, 
'cause got so bad heart : then go prayin' all way 
home, Jesus make my heart better. 

15. "When got home, find children safe, feel 
glad husband no come : only feel sorry 'cause my 
wicked heart don't know how make it better. 
When I go sleep, then dream I can read good 
book : dream I read there, Sarah must be bom 
'gain. In mornin' keep thinkin' what that word 
mean. When husband go work, run over my good 
nabor, ask her if Bible say so. 

16. "Then she read me, where that great man 
go see Jesus by night, 'cause 'fraid go in day time. 



24 POOR SARAH. 

I think he just like Sarah. She must go in secret, 
to hear *bout Jesus, else husband be angry, and 
beat her. Then feel 'couraged in mind, determin- 
ed to have Jesus for friend. So ask nabor how 
get good heart. She tell me, ' Give your heart to 
Jesus, he will give Holy Spirit, make it better.' 
Sarah don't know what she mean — never hear 
'bout Holy Spirit. 

17. "She say must go meetin' next Sunday, 
she will tell minister 'bout me — he tell mc what to 
do. So Sarah go hear how must be born 'gain ; 
minister say, 'You must go fall down 'fore God; 
tell him you grieved 'cause you sin — tell him you 
want better heart — tell him for Christ Jesus' sake 
give Holy Spirit, make your heart new.' Then 
Sarah go home light, 'cause she know the way. 

18. "When get home, husband beat me 'cause 
I go meetin' — don't stay home work. I say, ' Sarah 
can't work any more on Sunday, 'cause sin 'gainst 
God. I rather work night, when moon shine.' So 
he drive me hoe corn that night, he so angry. I 
want to pray great deal, so go out hoe corn, pray 
all the time. When come in house, husband sleep. 
Then I kneel down and tell Jesus take my bad 
heart — can't bear bad heart; pray give me Holy 
Spirit, make my heart soft, make it all new. 

19. " So great many days Sarah go beg for a 
new heart. Go meetin' all Sundays; if husband 
beat me, never mind it ; go hear good nabor read 
Bible every day. So, alter great while, God make 



POOR SARAH. 25 

all my mind peace. I love Jesus; love pray to 
him ; love tell him all my sorrows. He take away 
my sorrow, make all my soul joy; only sorry 
'cause can't read Bible — learn how to be like 
Jesus ; want to be like his dear people Bible 
tell of. 

20. " So I make great many brooms ; go get 
Bible for 'em. When come home, husband call 
me fool for it ; say he burn it up. Then I go hide 
it ; when he gone, get it, kiss it many times, 'cause 
it Jesus' good word. Then I go ask nabor if she 
learn me read ; she say, ' Yes.' Then 1 go many 
days learn letters, pray God all the while help me 
learn read his holy word. 

21. "So, misse, I learn read Baptist hymn; 
learn to spell out many good words in Bible. So 
every day take Bible, tell my children that be 
God's word, tell 'em how Jesus die on cross for 
sinner : then make 'em all kneel down, I pray God 
give 'em new heart ; pray for husband too, he so 
wicked. O, how I sorry for him ; fear his soul go 
in burnin' flame." 

22. " Sarah," said I, " how long did your husband 
live ?" " 0, he live great many year." " Did he 
repent and become a good man ?" " No, misse, I 
'fraid not ; he sin more and more. When he got 
sick, I in great trouble for him ; talk every day to 
him, but he no hear Sarah. I say, ' How can you 
bear go in burnin' fire, where worm never die, 
where fire never go out.' At last he get angry, bid 



26 POOR SARAH. 

me hold my tongue. So I don't say any more, 
only mourn over him every day 'fore God. 

23. " When he die, my heart say, ' Father, thy 
will be done — Jesus do all things well. Sarah 
can't help him now, he be in God's hands; all is 
well.' So then give my heart all away to Jesus; 
tell him I be all his ; serve him all my life ; beg 
Holy Spirit come fill all my heart, make it all clean 
and white like Jesus. Pray God help me learn 
more of his sweet word. 

24. "And now, Sarah live poor Indian widow 
great many long year : always find Jesus friend-, 
husband, brother, all. He make me willin' suffer ; 
willin' live great while in this bad world, if he see 
best. 'Bove all, he give me great good hope of 
glory when I die. So now I wait patient till my 
change comes." 

25. While she was giving this narration, her 
countenance bore strong testimony to the diversi- 
fied emotions of her soul. I might greatly swell 
the list of particulars ; but I design only to give 
the outlines of an example which would have done 
honor to the highest sphere in life ; and which, in 
my opinion, is not the less excellent, or the less 
worthy of imitation, because shrouded in the veil of 
poverty and sorrow. It was evident she meditated 
much on whal little she knew of divine things ; 
and what she knew of God's word was to her like 
honey and the honeycomb. 

26. She was in the habit of bringing bag3 of 



POOR SARAH. 27 

sand into the village, and selling it to buy food. 
Sometimes she brought grapes and other kinds of 
fruit. But as she walked by the way, she took 
little notice of any thing that passed, (except chil- 
dren, whom she seldom passed without an affec- 
tionate word of exhortation to be good, say their 
prayers, learn to read God's word, &c, accompa- 
nied with a bunch of grapes or an apple — thus en- 
gaging the affection of many a little heart,) but 
seemed absorbed in meditation ; and you might 
often have observed her hands uplifted, in the atti- 
tude of prayer. 

27. One day, after having observed her as she 
came, I asked her how she could bring so heavy 
loads, old as she was, and feeble. " O," said she, 
" when I get great load, then I go pray God give 
me strength to carry it. So I go on, thinkin' all 
the way how good God is give his only Son die 
for poor sinner ; think how good Jesus be, suffer 
so much for such poor creature ; how good Holy 
Spirit was, come into my bad heart, make it all 
new : so these sweet thoughts make my mind so 
full joy, I never think how heavy sand be on my 
old back." 

28. Here, said I to my heart, learn how to make 
the heavy load of iron cares easy. One day she 
passed with a bag of sand. On her return she 

called on me. I inquired how much Mrs. 

gave her for the sand. She was unwilling to tell, 
and I feared she was unwilling lest I should with- 



28 POOR SARAH. 

hold my accustomed mite, on account of what she 
had already received ; I therefore insisted she 
should let me see. 

29. She at length consented, and I drew from 
the bag a bone, not containing meat enough for 
half a meal. " Is this all ? Did that rich woman 
turn you off so ? How cruel, how hard-hearted !" 
I exclaimed. " Misse," she replied, "this made 
me 'fraid let you see it ; I 'fraid you would be 
angry : I hope she have bigger heart next time, 
only she forget now that Jesus promise to pay her 
all she give Sarah. Don't be angry, I pray God 
to give her a great deal bigger heart."' 

30. The conviction, that she possessed, in an 
eminent degree, the Spirit of him who said, " Bless 
them that curse you," and prayed for his murder- 
ers, rushed upon my mind with energy, and I 
could compare myself in some measure to those 
who said, " Shall we command fire to come down 
from heaven," &c. I think I never felt deeper 
self-abhorrence and abasement ; I left her for a 
moment, and from the few comforts I possessed, 
gave her a considerable portion. 

31. She received them with the most visible 
marks of gratitude — arose to depart, went to the 
door, and then turned, looking me in the face with 
evident concern. " Sarah," said I, " what would 
you have ?" (supposing she wanted something I had 
not thought of, and she feared to ask.) " O my good 
misse !" said she, " nothing ; only ' fraid your big 



POOR SARAH. 29 

heart feel some proud 'cause you give more for 
nothing than Misse for sand." 

32. This faithfulness, added to her piety and 
gratitude, completed the swell of feeling already 
rising in my soul ; and bursting into tears, I said, 

" O Sarah ! when you pray that Mrs. may 

have a bigger heart, don't forget to pray that I may 
have an humbler one." " I will, misse, I will," she 
exclaimed with joy, and hastened on her way. 

33. Another excellence in her character, was, 
that she loved the habitation of God's house, and 
often appeared there, when, from bad weather or 
other causes, many a seat of affluence was empty. 
She was always early, ever clean and whole in her 
apparel, though sometimes almost as much diver- 
sified with patches as the shepherd's coat. 

34. She was very old and quite feeble, yet she 
generally stood during public service, with eyes 
riveted on the preacher. I have sometimes over- 
taken her on the steps, after service, and tapping 
her on her shoulder, would say, " Have you had 
a good day, Sarah ?" " All good — sweeter than 
honey," she would reply. 

35. In the spring of 1818, it was observed by 
her friends that she did not appear at meeting as 
usual, and one of her particular female benefactors 
asked her the reason ; when she, with streaming 
eyes, told her that her clothes had become so old 
and ragged, that she could not come with comfort 
or decency ; but said she had been praying God to 

3* 



30 POOR SARAH. 

provide for her in this respect, a great while, and 
telling Jesus how much she wanted to go to his 
house of prayer, and expressed a strong desire to 
be resigned and submissive to his will. 

36. This was soon communicated to a few 
friends, who promptly obeyed the call of Provi- 
dence, and soon furnished this suffering member of 
Christ with a very decent suit of apparel. This 
present was almost overpowering to her grateful 
heart. She received them as from the hand of her 
heavenly Father and kind Redeemer, in answer to 
her special prayer. 

37. But this did not in the least diminish her 
gratitude to her benefactors ; but she said she would 
go on, tell Jesus how good his dear people were 
to this poor old creature, and pray her good Father 
lo give them great reward. Two of I he garments 
given her, she received with every mark of joy. 
On being asked why she set so high a value on 
these, she replied, "0, these just what I pray for 
so long, so as to lay out my poor old body, clean 
and decent, like God's dear white people, when I 
die." 

38. These she requested a friend to keep for 
her, fearing to carry them home, lest they should 
be taken from her. She was, however, persuaded 
to wear one of them to meeting, upon condition 
that if she injured that, another should be provided ; 
the other was preserved by her friend, and made 
use of at her death. 



POOR SARAH. 31 

39. Thus was this humble band of female 
friends honored, by anointing, as it were, the body, 
beforehand, to the burial. And I doubt not that her 
prayer was heard, and will be answered in their 
abundant reward. The last visit I had from her 
was in the summer of 1818. She had attended a 
funeral, and on returning, she called at my cottage. 
She complained of great weariness, and pain in her 
limbs, and showed me her feet, which were much 
swollen. 

40. I inquired the cause. " 0," said she, with 
a serene smile, " death comes creeping on ; I think 
in grave-yard to-day, Sarah must lie here soon." 
" Well, are you willing to die ? do you feel ready V* 
" 0, I hope, misse, if my bad heart tell true, I wil- 
lin' and ready to do just as Jesus bid me. If he 
say, ' You must die,' I glad to go be with him ; if 
he say, ' Live, and suffer great deal more,' then I 
willin' do that ; I think Jesus know best. 

41. "Sometime I get such look of heaven, I 
long to go see Jesus ; see happy angel ; see holy 
saint ; throw away my bad heart ; lay down my 
old body; and go where I no sin. Then I tell 
Jesus ; he say, ' Sarah, I prepare a place for you, 
then I come to take you to myself.' Then I be 
quite like child, don't want to go till he call me." 

42. Much more she said upon this interesting 
subject, which indicated a soul ripe for heavenly 
glories. When we parted, I thought it very doubt- 
ful whether we should ever meet again below. In 



32 POOR SARAH. 

the course of three weeks from this time, I heard 
that Sarah was no more. " Is Sarah dead V said I ; 
and the inquiry gave rise to the thoughts contained 
in the following lines : — 

43. Is Sarah dead? Let not a sigh ariBe, 

To mourn her exit from this world of wo : 
Rather let tears of joy suffuse the eyes 
Tliat oft have wept her suffring state below. 

44. Is Sarah dead? Then those poor aged limbs, 
So long with pain and weariness oppress'd, 
An easy bed in yonder grave shall find, 
"And long and sweet shall be the sacred rest." 

45. Is Sarah dead ? Then never, never, more, 
Shall hunger force her from her wretched cot, 
With eager step, a morsel to implore 
Where poverty and tears are heeded not. 

46. No longer bent beneath a heavy load, 
I see her struggle on her weary way, 

With lifted hands, imploring strength of God 

To bear the heat and burden of the day. 

47. That untaught mind shall now lament no more 
Its scanty knowledge of God's holy word, 

Or grieve that she had not begun before 
To banquet on the goodness of the Lord. 

48. I loved thee, Sarah, for I well could trace 
My Saviour's image in thy humble soul ; 
Thy heart the seat of his almighty grace, 
And every action proved its sweet control. 

49. O happy Sarah ! (though so poor and low, 
That few on thee would cast a pitying look,) 
Since thy Redeemer deign'd his love to show, 
And wrote thy name in life's immortal book. 



POOR SARAH. 33 

60. And rather far would I thy triumph share, 
(And ere the triumph all thy sorrows feel,) 
Than gain the laurel earthly conq'rors wear, 
And all the sceptres kings and princes wield. 

51. Thus, while the pen of many a ready writer 
is employed in imparting instruction, reproof, or 
correction, to the rising or risen generation ; while 
the deeds of the mighty are recorded with splen- 
dor ; the exploits of heroes proclaimed from the 
house tops ; and the virtues and charities of God's 
people are exhibited, that others may see then- 
good works, and glorify their Father who is in hea- 
ven, I would, according to my humble ability, 
snatch from oblivion the example of one, who, 
though scorned by the proud, and overlooked by 
the great, yet was known and beloved by an hum. 
ble few, and by them the grace of God was mag- 
nified on her account. 



34 ALICE. THE NEGRO. 



ALICE, THE NEGRO. 

About the year 1802, died, in Pennsylvania, 
a female slave, named Alice, aged one hundred and 
sixteen years. She was born in Philadelphia, of 
parents who came from Barbadoes, and she lived 
there till she was ten years old, when she was re- 
moved to Dunk's Ferry, about seventeen miles up 
the Delaware river, near which she lived till the 
end of her days. 

2. A short lime before her death, she paid a vis- 
it to her native city. Many respectable persons 
called to see her, who were pleased with her innc- 
cont cheerfulness, and that dignified deportment, 
for which, though a slave and uninstructed, she 
was remarkable. 

3. She was a worthy member of the Episcopal 
society, and she attended their public worship as 
long as she lived : indeed, she was so zealous to 
perform this duty in proper time, that she has often 
been met on horseback, galloping to the church, 
when she was ninetv-five years old. 

4. The veneration she had for the Bible, made 
her lament that she was not able to read it : but 
this deficiency was in part supplied by the kind 
ness of many of her friends, who, at her request, 
would read it to her, when she would listen with 
great attention, and often make suitable remarks. 



ALICE, THE NEGU0. 35 

5. She was temperate in her living, and so care- 
ful not to tell an untruth, that her veracity was 
never questioned ; and her master had such confi- 
dence m her honesty, that she was at all times 
trusted to receive the ferriage money, for upward 
of forty years. 

6. When she was one hundred years old, the 
last of her teeth dropped out. She also about that 
time became blind, so that she could not see the sun 
at noonday : but being used to constant employment, 
though her last master excused her from her usual 
labor, she did not like to be idle ; for she afterward 
devoted her time to fishing, at which she was very 
expert ; and even when blind, she would frequent- 
ly row herself in a boat to the middle of the 
stream, from which she seldom returned without a 
handsome supply of fish for her master's table. 

7. About the hundred and second year of her 
age, her sight was gradually restored a little, so 
that she could see objects moving before her. She 
retained her hearing to the end of her life ; but be- 
fore she died, her hair became perfectly white. 

8. The honesty, love of truth, veneration for the 
Holy Scriptures, attention to religious worship, 
temperance, and industry of this poor slave, should 
be a lesson to us ; and if we admire her character, 
if we ourselves wish to become good, let us attend 
the good spirit, the spirit of Christ in our hearts, 
which reproves us, and makes us feel unhappy 
when we do wrong ; but when we mind its re- 



36 THE GENEROUS NEGRO. 

proofs, and humbly endeavor to do what we know 
is right, it gives us that peace of mind which the 
world cannot give, neither can it take away. 



THE GENEROUS NEGRO. 

Joseph Rachel, a respectable negro, resided in 
the island of Barbadoes. He was a trader, and 
dealt chiefly in the retail way. In his business, he 
conducted himself so fairly and complaisantly, that, 
in a town filled with little peddling shops, his doors 
were thronged with customers. Almost all dealt 
with him, and ever found him remarkably honest 
and obliging. 

2. If any one knew not where to obtain an arti- 
cle, Joseph would endeavor to procure it, without 
making any advantage for himself. In short, his 
character was so fair, and his manners so gener- 
ous, that the best people showed him a regard 
which they often deny to men of their own color, 
because they arc not blessed with the like goodness 
of heart. 

3. In 1756, a fire happened, which burned down 
a great part of the town, and ruined many of the 
inhabitants. Joseph lived in a quarter that escaped 
the destruction, and expressed his thankfulness by 
softening the distresses of his neighbors. Among 



THE GENEROUS NEGRO. 37 

those who had lost their property by this heavy 
misfortune, was a man to whose family Joseph, in 
the early part of his life, owed some obligations. 

4. This man, by too great hospitality, an excess 
very common in the West Indies, had involved 
himself in diiKculties, before the fire happened ; 
and his estate lying in houses, that event entirely 
ruined him. Amid the cries of misery and want, 
which excited Joseph's compassion, this man's un- 
fortunate situation claimed particular notice. The 
generous and open temper of the sufferer, the obli- 
gations that Joseph owed to his family, were spe- 
cial and powerful motives for ac'.ing toward him 
the part of a friend. 

5. Joseph had his bond for sixty pounds ster- 
ling. " Unfortunate man," said he, " this debt 
shall never come against thee. I sincerely wish 
thou couldst settle all thy other affairs as easily. 
But how am I sure that I shall keep in this mind ? 
May not the love of gain, especially when, by 
length of time, thy misfortune shall become fa- 
miliar to me, return with too strong a current, and 
bear down my fellow-feeling before it ? But for 
this I have a remed) r . Never shalt thou apply for 
the assistance of any friend against my avarice." 

6. He arose, and ordered a large account that 
the man had with him, to be drawn out ; and in a 
whim that might have called up a smile on the 
face of Charity, he filled his pipe, sat down again, 
twisted the bond and lighted his pipe with it. 

4 



38 THE GENEROUS NEGRO. 

While the account was drawing out, he continued 
smoking, in a state of mind that a monarch might 
envy. When it was finished, he went in search of 
his friend, with the discharged account and the 
mutilated bond in his hand. 

7. On meeting him, he presented the papers to 
him with this address : " Sir, I am sensibly 
affected with your misfortunes : the obligations I 
have received from your family, give me a relation 
to every branch of it. I know that your inability 
to pay what you owe, gives you more uneasiness 
than the loss of your own substance. 

8. " That you may not be anxious on my ac- 
count in particular, accept of this discharge, and 
the remains of your bond. I am overpaid in the 
satisfaction that I feel from having done my duty. 
I beg you to consider this only as a token of the 
happiness you will confer upon me, whenever you 
put it in my power to do you a good office." 

9. The philanthropists of England take pleasure 
in speaking of him : — " Having become rich by 
commerce, he consecrated all his fortune to acts 
of benevolence. The unfortunate, without dis- 
tinction of color, had a claim on his affections. He 
gave to the indigent ; lent to those who could not 
make a return ; visited prisoners, gave them good 
advice, and endeavored to bring back the guilty to 
virtue. He died at Bridgetown, on that island, m 
1758, equally lamented by blacks and whites, for 
he was a friend to all." 



CAPTAIN PAUL CUFFEE. 39 



CAPTAIN PAUL CUFFEE. 

Paul Cuffee, the subject of this narrative, was 
the youngest son of John Cuffee, a poor African, 
whom the hand of unfeeling avarice had dragged 
from his home and connections, and sold into a 
state of slavery ; but who, by good conduct, faith- 
fulness, and a persevering industry, in time ob- 
tained his freedom. He afterward purchased a 
farm, and, having married one of the native inhab- 
itants of America, brought up a family of ten chil- 
dren respectably, on one of the Elizabeth Islands, 
near New Bedford, Massachusetts. 

2. In the year 1773, when Paul was about four- 
teen years of age, his father died, leaving a widow 
with six daughters to the care of him and his 
brothers. Although he had no learning except 
what he had received from the hand of friendship, 
yet by that means he advanced to a considerable 
degree of knowledge in arithmetic and naviga- 
tion. 

3. Of the latter, he acquired enough in two 
weeks to enable him to command his own vessel 
in its voyages to many ports in the Southern 
States, the West Indies, England, Russia, and to 
Africa. The beinnnins of his business in this 
line was in an open boat ; but by prudence and 



40 CAPTAIN PAUL CCFFEE. ' 

perseverance, he was at length enabled to obtain a 
good-sized schooner, then a brig, and afterward a 
ship. In the year 1806, he owned a ship, two 
brigs, and several smaller vessels, besides consid 
erable property in houses and lands. 

4. Feeling in early life a desire of benefiting 
his fellow-men, he made use of such opportunities 
as were in his power for that purpose. Hence, 
dining the severity of winter, when he could not 
pursue his usual business in his little boat, he em- 
ployed his time in teaching navigation to his own 
family and to the young men of the neighborhood. 
Even on his voyages, when opportunity offered, 

1 he instructed those under his care in that useful 
art. 

5. He was so conscientious, that he would not 
enter into any business, however profitable, that 
might have a tendency to injure his fellow-men ; 
and seeing the dreadful effects of drunkenness, he 
would not deal in ardent spirits on that account. 

G. In the place where he lived, there was no 
school ; and as lie was anxious that his children 
should obtain an education, he built a house on his 
own land, at his own expense, and gave his neigh- 
bors the free use of it ; being satisfied in seeing it 
occupied for so useful and excellent a purpose. 

7. In many parts of his history, we may dis- 
cover that excellent trait of character which ren- 
dered him so eminently useful — a steady perse- 
verance in laudable undertakings. It is only by an 



CAPTAIN PAUL CUFFEE. 41 

honest industrious use of the means in our power 
that we can hope to become respectable. 

8. His mind had long been affected with the de- 
graded and miserable condition of his African breth- 
ren, and his heart yearning toward them, his 
thoughts were turned to the British settlement at 
Sierra Leone. In 1811, finding his property suf- 
ficient to warrant the undertaking, and believing it 
to be his duty to use a part of what God had given 
him for the benefit of his unhappy race, he em- 
barked in his own brig, manned entirely by per- 
sons of color, and sailed to Africa, the land of his 
forefathers. 

9. After he arrived at Sierra Leone, he had many 
conversations with the governor and principal in- 
habitants, and proposed to them a number of im- 
provements. Thence he sailed to England, where 
he met great attention and respect ; and being fa- 
vored with an opportunity of opening his views to 
the Board of Managers of the African Institution, 
they cordially united with him in all his plans. 
This mission to Africa was undertaken at his own 
expense, and with the purest motives of benev- 
olence. 

10. He was very desirous of soon making an- 
other voyage, but was prevented by the war which 
took place between England and the United States. 
In 1815, however, he made preparations, and took 
on board his brig thirty-eight persons of color; and 

after a voyage of thirty-five days, he arrived safe 

4* 



42 CAPTAIN PAUL CUFFEE. 

at his destined port. These persons were to in- 
struct the inhabitants of Sierra Leone in farming 
and the mechanic arts. His stay at this time was 
about two months, and when he took his leave, 
particularly of those whom he had brought over, 
it was like a father leaving his children, and with 
pious admonition commending them to the protec- 
tion of God. 

11. He was making arrangements for a third 
voyage, when he was seized with the complaint 
which terminated his labors and his life. He was 
taken ill in the winter, and died in the autumn fol- 
lowing, 1817, in the fifty-ninth vear of his age. 
For the benefit of his African brethren, he devoted 
a portion of his youthful acquisitions, of 'his latter 
time, and even the thoughts of his dying pillow. 

12. As a private man, he was just and upright 
in all his dealings. He was an affectionate bus- 
band, a kind father, a good neighbor, and a faith- 
ful friend. He was pious without ostentation, and 
warmly attached to the principles of the Society 
of Friends, of which he was a member ; and he 
sometimes expressed a few sentences in their 
meetings which gave general satisfaction. Regard- 

oi the honors and pleasures of the world, he 
followed the example of his divine Master, in going 
from place to place doing good, looking not for a 
reward from man, but from his heavenly Father. 

13. Thus walking in the ways of piety and use- 
fulness, and in the enjoyment of an approving con- 



CAPTAIN PAUL CUFFEE. 43 

science, when death appeared, it found him in 
peace, and ready to depart. Such a calmness and 
serenity overspread his soul, and showed itself in 
his countenance, that the heart of even the repro- 
bate might feel the wish, " Let me die the death 
of the righteous, and let my last end be like his." 

14. A short time before he expired, feeling sen- 
sible that his end was near, he called his family 
together. It was an affecting and solemn scene. 
His wife and children, with several other relations, 
being assembled around him, he reached forth his 
feeble .hand, and after embracing them all, and 
giving them some pious advice, he commended 
them to the mercy of God, and bid them a final 
farewell. 

15. After this, his mind seemed almost entirely 
occupied with the eternal world. To one of his 
neighbors who came to visit him, he said, " Not 
many days hence, and ye shall see the glory of 
God. I know that my works are gone to judg- 
ment before me ; but it is all well, it is all well." 

16. He lived the life, and died the death of a 
Christian. He is gone whence he never shall re- 
turn, and where he shall no more contend with 
raging billows, and with howling storms. His 
voyages are all over, he has made his last haven, 
and it is that of eternal repose. Thither could we 
follow him, we should learn the importance of ful- 
filling our duty to our Creator, to ourselves, and to 
our fellow-creatures. 



44 CAPTAIN PAUL CUFFEE. 

17. Such was his reputation for wisdom and in- 
tegrity, that his neighbors consulted him in all their 
important concerns ; and what an honor to the son 
of a poor African slave ! And the most respect- 
able men in Great Britain and America were not 
ashamed to seek to him for counsel and advice. 

18. Thus we see how his persevering industry 
and economy, with the blessing of Providence, 
procured him wealth ; his wisdom, sobriety, integ- 
rity, and good conduct made him many friends ; 
his zealous labors for the honor of his Maker, and 
for the benefit of his fellow-men, gave him a. peace- 
ful conscience ; and an unshaken belief in the 
mercies and condescending love of his heavenly 
Father, afforded, in his dying moments, that calm- 
ness, serenity, and peaceful joy, which are a fore- 
taste of immortal bliss. 

19. The following is an extract from his address 
to his brethren at Sierra Leone : — " Beloved friends 
and fellow-countrymen, I earnestly recommend to 
you the propriety of assembling yourselves to- 
gether to worship the Lord your God. God is a 
spirit, and they that worship him acceptably, must 
worship in spirit and in truth. 

20. " Come, my African brethren, let us walk 
in the light of the Lord; in that pure light which 
bringeth salvation into the world. I recommend 
sobriety and steadfastness, that so professors may 
be good examples in all things. I recommend 
that early care be taken to instruct the youth while 



CAPTAIN PAUL CUFFEE. 



45 



their minds are tender, that so they may be pre- 
served from the corruptions of the world, from 
profanity, intemperance, and bad company. 

21. " May servants be encouraged to discharge 
their duty with faithfulness : may they be brought 
up to industry : and may their minds be cultivated 
for the reception of the good seed which is prom- 
ised to all who seek it. I want that we should be 
faithful in all things, that so we may become a 
people giving satisfaction to those who have borne 
the burden and heat of the day in liberating us 
from a state of slavery. 

22. " I leave you in the hands of him who is 
able to preserve you through time, and crown you 
with that blessing which is prepared for all who 
are faithful to the end." This appears to be the 
simple expression of his feelings, and the language 
of his heart. 

23. When you have read this account of your 
brother Paul Cuffee, pause and reflect. Do not 
think because you cannot be as extensively useful 
as he was, that you cannot do any good. There 
are very few people, if any, in the world who can- 
not be useful in some way or other. If you have 
health, you may, by your industry, sobriety, and 
economy, make yourselves and your families com- 
fortadle. 

24. By your honesty and good conduct, you 
may set them and your neighbors a good example. 
[f you have aged parents, you may soothe and 



4C SOLOMON BAYLEY. 

comfort their declining years. If you have chil- 
dren, you may instruct them in piety and virtue, 
and in such business as will procure them a com- 
fortable subsistence, and prepare them for useful- 
ness in the world. 



SOLOMON BAYLEY. 

The following sketch is taken from the very in- 
teresting narrative of Solomon Bayley. The fore 
part was written from an apprehension of duty, 
the latter part, with those respecting his mother 
and his two daughters, at the request of Robert 
Hurnard, who became acquainted with the author 
in 1820, while he resided at Wilmington, Dela- 
ware ; and after his return to England, he had it 
printed. The profit arising from the publication, 
was designed to be transmitted to America, for the 
benefit of this aged couple, who then lived at 
Camden. 

2. In the narrative of his own life, he says, 
" The Lord tried to teach me his fear when I was 
a little boy; but I delighted in vanity and foolish- 
ness, and went astray ; but he found out a way to 
overcome me, and to cause me to desire his favor 
and his great help ; and although I thought no one 



SOLOMON BAYLEY. 47 

could be more unworthy of his favor, yet he did 
look on me, and pity me in my great distress. 

3. " I was born a slave in the state of Dela- 
ware, and was one of those that were carried out 
of Delaware into the state of Virginia ; and the 
laws of Delaware did say, that slaves carried out 
of that state should be free, and I asserted my 
right to freedom, for which I was put on board of 
a vessel and sent to Richmond, where I was put 
in jail, and in irons, and thence sent in a wagon 
back into the country. 

4. " On the third day after we left Richmond, in 
the bitterness of my heart, I was induced to say, 
1 1 am past all hope ;' but it pleased the Father of 
mercy to look upon me, and he sent a strengthen- 
ing thought into my heart — that he that made the 
heavens and the earth, was able to deliver me. I 
looked up to the sky, and then on the trees and 
ground, and I believed, in a moment, that if he 
could make all these he was able to deliver me. 

5. " Then did that Scripture come into my 
mind, ' They that trust in the Lord shall never be 
confounded.' I believed it, and got out of the 
wagon unperceived, and went into the bushes. 
There were three wagons in company ; when they 
missed me, they looked round some time for me, 
but not finding me, they went on ; and that night 
I travelled through thunder, lightning, and rain a 
considerable distance." 

6. His trials and difficulties in getting along 



48 SOLOMON BAYLEY. 

were many and various; but at Petersburgh he met 
a man from his neighborhood, circumstanced like 
himself; they got a small boat, went down James 
river, and landed on the eastern shore of Chesa- 
peake bay, and travelled to Hunting creek, where 
their wives were. " But," says he, " we found 
little or no satisfaction, for we were hunted like 
partridges on the mountains." 

7. His poor companion, being threatened again 
with slavery, in attempting to escape, was pursued 
and killed ; on which Solomon makes the follow- 
ing remarks : " Now, reader, you have heard of 
the end of my fellow-sufferer, but I remain as yet 
a monument of mercy, thrown up and down on 
life's tempestuous sea ; sometimes feeling an 
earnest desire to go away and be at rest ; but I 
travail on, in hopes of overcoming at my last 
combat 

8. " It being thought best for me to leave Vir- 
ginia, I went to Dover in Delaware, the distance 
of about one hundred and twenty miles." By 
travelling in the night, and laying by in the day 
time, he at length reached that place, but not with- 
out great difficulty by being hunted and pursued. 

9. In concluding this part of his narrative, he 
says, " what pains God takes to help his other- 
wise helpless creatures ! that his kindness and 
care were more considered and laid to heart ! and 
then there would not be that cause to complain 
that ' the ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his 



SOLOMON BAYLEY. 49 

master's crib, but Israel doth not know, my people 
doth not consider ;' but they would see that they 
are of more value than many sparrows ; and that 
they are not their own, but bought with a price. 
Now, unto the King immortal, invisible, the only 
wise God, be glory and honor, dominion and 
power, now and for ever. Amen." 

10. In the second part of his narrative, written 
at the request of R. H., he proceeds by remarking, 
" Seventh month 24th, 1799, I got to Camden, 
where my master soon came from Virginia and 
found me, though he had not seen me since he put 
me on board the back-country wagon, nearly three 
or four hundred miles from Camden. Upon first 
sight, he asked me what I was going to do. I 
said, ' Now, master, I have suffered a great deal, 
and seen a great deal of trouble, I think you might 
let me go for little or nothing.' He said, ' I won't 
do that ; but if you will give me forty pounds bond 
and good security, you may be free." 

11. After much conversation between them on 
the subject of his right to freedom, he continues, 
" Finally, he sold my time for eighty dollars, and 
I went to work, and worked it out in a shorter time 
than he gave me, and then I was a free man. 
And when I came to think that the yoke tvas off 
my neck, and hoic it was taken off, I was made to 
wonder and admire, and to adore the order of kind 
Providence, which assisted me in all my way." 

12. Here he very feelingly recites the trials and 



50 SOLOMON BAYLEY. 

exercises of mind that attended him, for not ad- 
hering to that wisdom and goodness of his Creator, 
which had been so marvellously manifested for his 
deliverance, and then proceeds to relate the cir- 
cumstances respecting his wife and children. " My 
wife was born a slave, and remained one until she 
was thirty-two years of age ; when her master, 
falling out with her, purposed sending her, with 
my eldest daughter, about three months old, into 
the back country. 

13. " To go with her, I knew not where, or to 
buy her at his price, brought me to a stand ; but, 
by the pleading of his wife and little daughter, he 
agreed to let me have her for one hundred and 
thirty-three dollars and a third, which is thirty-one 
pounds Virginia money. I paid what money I 
had saved since paying for my own freedom, and 
the rest as I earned it, and she was manumitted. 
But I had one child in bondage, my only son, and 
having worked through the purchase of myself 
and wife, I thought I would give up my son to the 
ordering of Divine Providence. 

14. "So we worked and rented land, and got 
along twelve or thirteen years, when my son'a 
master died, and his property had to be sold, and 
my son among the rest, at public sale. The back- 
wnods-men having come over and given such large 
prices for slaves, it occasioned a great concern to 
come over my mind, and I told it to many of my 
friends, and they all encouraged me to buy him, 



SOLOMON BAYLEY. 51 

but I told them I could have uo heart to do it, be- 
cause at his master's death he was appraised at 
four hundred dollars ; however, I went to the sale. 
When the crier said, ' A likely young negro fel- 
low for sale,' and then asked for a bid, I said, ' Two 
hundred dollars.' 

15. "As soon as I made this bid, a man that I 
feared would sell him to the back-woods-men, bid 
three hundred and thirty-three dollars, which beat 
down all my courage, but a thought struck me — 
Don't give out so — and I bid one shilling, but they 
continued to bid until they got him up to three 
hundred and sixty dollars, and I thought I could 
do no more, but those men who had engaged to be 
my securities, encouraged me, and some young 
men who were present, and had their hearts touched 
with a feeling for my distress, said, ' Solomon, if 
you will make one more bid, we will give you five 
dollars apiece ;' so I turned round and said, ' One 
shilling ;' so he was knocked off to me at three 
hundred and sixty dollars and a shilling : this was 
m the year 1S13. 

16. " Then I believed that God would work, and 
none could hinder him, and that a way would be 
made for me, though I knew not how ; and I con- 
fess the eyes of my mind appeared to be dazzled 
as I was let into a sight of the great goodness of 
the Highest in undertaking for me ; but I felt a fear 
lest my behaviour should not be suitable to the 
kindness and favor shown toward me. 



52 SOLOMON BAYLEY. 

17. "0 that all men would study the end of 
their creation, and act accordingly ! then they 
would walk in the light of His countenance in- 
deed, and ' in his name rejoice all the day, and in 
his righteousness for ever be exalted.' 

1 Then should their sun in smiles decline, 
And bring a peaceful night ;' 

which may all who read these lines, desire, and 
seek, and obtain, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen." 

18. In the account of his mother, he says, " She 
was born of a woman brought from Guinea about 
the year 1690, then about eleven years old. She 
was brought into one of the most barbarous fami- 
lies ; and though treated hard, she had many chil- 
dren, and lived to a great age. My mother had 
thirteen sons and daughters, and served the same 
cruel family until they died. 

19. "Then great distress and dispersion took 
place. Our young mistress married, and brought 
our family out of the state of Virginia into the 
state of Delaware ; but by their removing back to 
Virginia, we were entitled to our freedom, and at- 
tempting to recover it by law, we were sold and 
scattered wide. My father and two of his children 
were taken unaware, and sent to the West Indies. 
My mother was in the house at the time, but made 
her escape, leaving a child about eleven months 
old, which some kind friend carrying to her, she 



SOLOMON BAYLEY. 53 

took, and travelling through Delaware, went into 
New Jersey. 

20. " We were separated about eighteen years, 
except that I once visited her, and carried her 
seventeen or eighteen dollars, which, in ray cir- 
cumstances, was a sacrifice, but I was favored to 
find that satisfaction which I esteemed more than 
time or money. Being thoughtful about my moth- 
er, I sent for her to come to the state of Delaware, 
and when we were brought together, it was very 
comfortable, and we could sit and tell of the dan- 
gers and difficulties we had been brought through. 
She lived to a great age, and departed without 
much complaint, like one falling asleep. 

" An Account of my eldest daughter Margaret, who 
died in the 2Ath year of her age. 

" She was a pleasant child in her manners and 
behaviour, yet fond of gay dress, and new fashions ; 
yet her mind was much inclined to her book, and 
to read good lessons ; and it pleased the Father of 
mercy to open her understanding to see excellent 
things out of his law, and to convince her that it 
was his will she should be holy here, and happy 
hereafter ; but custom, habit, and shame, seemed 
to chain her down, so that she appeared like one 
halting between two opinions. 

22. " But about a month before she was taken 
for death, she went to a meeting, under a concern 

5* 



54 SOLOMON BAYLEY. 

about her future state ; and the meeting appeared 
to be favored with the outpouring of the spirit of 
love and of power. Margaret came home under 
great concern of mind, and manifested a wonderful 
change in her manners and behaviour : I believe 
the whole family were affected at the sight of the 
alteration, which indeed appeared like that of the 
prodigal son coming home to his father. For my 
own part, I felt fear and gTeat joy — such was her 
delight to read the Bible, and ask the meaning of 
certain texts of Scripture, which evidenced a con- 
cern to make sure work for eternity. 

23. " In this frame of mind she was taken for 
death. She appeared very desirous to live, for the 
first four weeks ; but was very patient, and of a 
sweet temper and disposition all the time. I recol- 
lect but one instance when she was known to give 
way to peevish frctfulncss ; then I, feeling the 
evil spirit striving to get the advantage of her, very 
tenderly and earnestly admonished her not to re- 
gard trifles, but to look to that Power which was 
able to save her ; and from that time she became 
passive and resigned. 

24. " The following two weeks her pain was 
great, and baffled all the force of medicine. A few 
days before her departure, she was urged with much 
brokenncss of heart to make confession, when she 
was let into a view of the vanity of the world, with 
all its glittering snares, and said she could not rest 
till her hair was cut off; for she said, ' I was per- 



SOLOMON BAVLEV. 55 

suaded to plait my hair against my father's advice, 
and I used to tie up my head when father would 
come to see me, and hide ruffles and gay dress 
from him, and now I cannot rest till my hair is cut 
off.' I said, • No, my daughter, let it be till thee 
gets well.' She answered, ' 0, no ; cut it now.' So 
I, to pacify her, took and cropped it. 

25. "After this, she appeared filled with raptures 
of joy, and talked of going, as if death had lost its 
sting. This was about three days before her de- 
parture ; and she seemed to have her senses as 
long as she could speak. A little before her speech 
left her, she called us all, one by one, held out her 
hand, bade us farewell, and looked as if she felt 
that assurance and peace that destroy the fear of 
death ; and while she held out her hands, she ear- 
nestly charged us to meet her in heaven. Thus 
ends the account of Margaret Bayley, daughter of 
Solomon and Thames Bayley, who departed this 
life the 26th of 3d month, 1821, aged nearly 
twenty-four years. 

26. " I desire now to give the pious a brief ac- 
count of the life and death of my youngest daugh- 
ter, Leah Bayley, who departed this life the 27th 
of 7th month, 1821, aged twenty-one years and six 
months. She, from a child, was more weakly and 
sickly than her sister Margaret, and the thought of 
leaving her here in this ill-natured world, caused 
me many serious moments ; but the great Parent 
of all good, in the greatness of his care, took her 



56 SOLOMON BAYLEV. 

away, and relieved me of the care of her for 
ever. 

27. " Weakness of body and mind appeared in 
her as she grew up, and an inclination to vanity 
and idleness ; but being bound out under an indus- 
trious mistress, to learn to work and to have school- 
ing, her mind soon became much inclined to her 
book and then to business. Her school mistress 
gave her a little book, concerning some pious 
young people that lived happily, and died happily, 
and were gone to heaven ; namclv, — 

28 . " Young Samuel, that little child, 
Who served the Lord, lived undefiled. 
Like young Abijah I must be, 
That good things may be found in me. 
Young Timothy, that blessed youth, 
Who sought the Lord, and loved the truth. 
I must not sin as others do, 
Lest I lie down in sorrow too. 

29. " These blessed examples won her heart, so 
as to bury every other enjoyment ; she seemed to 
possess as great a deadness to the world, as any 
young woman I ever observed. She seemed not 
ashamed to read in any company, white or colored ; 
and she read to the sick with intense desire, which 
appeared from hor weeping, and solid manner of 
behaviour. She seemed to desire to walk in the 
fear of the Lord all the day long ; and every body 
that observed her, remarked her serious, steady 
behaviour. 



SOLOMON BAYLEY. 57 

30. " She seemed as if she was trying to imitate 
those good children whom she read about ; and so 
continued until she was taken sick ; and though 
her sickness was long and sharp, yet she bore it 
like a lamb. A few days before her decease, I 
was noticing how hard she drew her breath; she 
looked very wistful at me, and said, ' father ! 
how much I do suffer !' I answered, ' Yes, my 
dear, I believe thee does.' 

31. " Then, after a long pause, she said, ' But I 
think I never shall say I suffer too much.' This 
I apprehended was extorted from a view of the 
sufferings of Christ, and her own imperfections. 
The day she died, she called us all, one by one, 
and like her sister Margaret, held out her hand, and 
with much composure of mind, bade us farewell, 
as if she was only going a short walk, and to re- 
turn." 

Extract from a Letter from Solomon Bayley to 
John Reynolds, Wilmington, Delaware. 

Dear Friend, — I received thy very acceptable 
letter, and was not a little comforted ; I was glad 
to hear from thee and thy dear family and friends. 
I believe thou art trying to be a beloved John in- 
deed, or a son of Abraham : for they that are of 
faith are children of Abraham, and heirs according 
to the promises, Gal. iii. 7. And the Lord gave a 
testimony concerning him, saying, " I know him 



58 SOLOMON BAVLEV. 

that he will commandr his children and his house 
hold after him," Gen. xviii. 19. 

33. 0, I pray that thou mayst continue to study 
the business of life, which is to prepare for a bless 
ed immortality and eternal life with the Father and 
the Son, according to the Spirit of holiness which 
works in us both to will and to do of his good 
pleasure, and if not resisted, will make us one in 
him in spirit and in truth. that we might be 
enabled to walk before the Lord unto all well- 
pleasing ! 

34. I thank thee, dear brother, for mentioning a 
thought for my temporal and spiritual concerns. I 
am daily at a loss how to express my thanks to the 
great Giver of every blessing, who daily loads me 
with benefits. I think I am enabled by his grace to 
esteem the cross of Christ more than I used to do ; 
for I learn by the cross I must be crucified to the 
world, and the world unto me, Gal vi. 14. 

35. But 0, dear friend, I find that knowledge 
puffelh up : but it is charity alone that edifieth, 1 
Cor. viii. 1. True charity is not puffed up, 1 Cor. 
xiii. 4. Now no man can have true charity without 
he love God and keep his commandments, 1 John, 
v. 2, and ii. 6 ; which is defined by the blessed 
Jesus himself in these words : As you would that 
men should do to you, do ye even so to them, Matt, 
vii. 12. 

36. O, if all the world were engaged to run after 
this command, and follow this best of all rules ! then 



SOLOMON BAYLEY. 59 

harmony and peace would flow through the minds 
of all people, nations, and tongues, at once ; then 
righteousness would cover the earth as the waters 
do the great deep ; then His kingdom would come, 
and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven ; 
then all would be happy, and free from all fear 
which hath torment — live happy — die happy, and 
all go to heaven according to the will of God our 
Father, who will have all men to be saved and 
come to the knowledge of the truth, 1 Tim. ii. 4. 

37. Now unto the King immortal, invisible, to 
the only wise God our Saviour, be honor and 
praise both now and for ever. Amen. 

With good wishes to thee and thine, I conclude, 
Thy friend, 

Solomon Bayley. 

Camden, Del., 1th month 24th, 1325. 

P. S. I will take the liberty in another piece of 
paper to say something concerning Hayti. 

Extract from a letter from the same to the same. 

Dear Friend, — It is in depth of thought, and 
fear, and dread, I now write unto thee. Truly, I 
have felt a great concern for my brethren, my kins- 
men according to the flesh. Of my mother's chil- 
dren, four were sent to the western countries : my 
father and two children were sent to the West In- 
dies, and sold there to Abner Stevens, after we had 



60 SOLOMON BAYLEY. 

made an attempt to recover our freedom, for being 
moved out of Delaware into the state of Virginia, 
after that law had taken place against removing 
slaves out of one state into another. 

39. Now that was all the cause why we were 
dispersed one from another. But what I have 
mostly considered is, that of all the distressed fam- 
ily that was dispersed, I was the only one that got 
back and obtained freedom. Nov/ it seems to me, 
I was the most unworthy of all the family : yet 
there was a mind in me to study on that miracle- 
working Power spoken of in the Scriptures of 
Truth. 

40. Now praised be the name of Him thatliveth 
for ever and ever. According to the riches of his 
grace in Christ Jesus, and my strength of faith in 
him, he so worked for me until he brought me out 
of difficulty, and delivered me from the strivings of 
the people. And although it hath pleased him to 
take all my children away from me by his great 
power, and has kept me from falling, while some 
on the right hand, and others on the left, high and 
low, rich and poor, white and colored, have fallen ; 
made shipwreck — broken up and sold — gone to 
jail — come out by the poor act, I am here a stand- 
ing monument of mercy ; owe no man any thing — 
clear of all entanglements, and still rejoicing in my 
portion : which portion I asked of the Lord, after I 
had paid for my wife, myself, and children. 

41. IN ow flic portion I asked was this — that I 



SOLOMON BAYLEY. 61 

might live poor and plenty, and be kept clear from 
all scrapes. And blessed be his great name, I may 
say, hitherto he has helped me, unworthy as I am ; 
unworthy when he first looked on me to help me, 
that day I left the back-country wagons ; and still 
he doth his help afford me, and encourage me to 
trust in him — glory and honor, and praise and 
thanksgiving, might, dominion, and power, be unto 
Him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb 
for ever and ever. 

42. And now I come to open myself concerning 
Hayti : I want to go and see it — what it is — the 
goodness of it — and see the new settlers — and see 
how they do — and see their situation — and see if 
they might be encouraged to be contented — and 
return and report to my friends in this country ; 
because the minds of a great many have been af- 
fected by such a general invitation made by the 
Haytians. 

43. I should be glad to see Long Island,* if I 
could get encouragement from Hayti. I am will- 
ing to work some, so I can have time to write and 
read some by the way. Now when thou hast re- 
ceived these lines, please to write me thy mind 
touching my visit to Hayti. I don't want to hurry 
myself — get ready, and be sure not to go till I get 
suitable papers — recommendations. 

Thy sincere friend, 

Solomon Bayley. 

♦ Probably meaning Sierra Leone. 

6 



62 SOLOMON BAYLEY. 

Extract from a letter from the same to R. H. 

I thank thee, dear Robert, for spending a thought 
on so poor and unworthy a thing as I am ; but I 
especially thank thy God and my God, for putting 
it into thy heart to inquire any thing about the work 
of grace on my mind. I trust it is with gratitude I 
now write unto thee of my call to the ministry : 
and first I may say, 

" God works in a mysterious way, 
His wonders to perform." 

45. Secondly, he knows how to get himself 
honor and praise by the most feeble ; for to under- 
take to make such a creature as I am work in his 
vineyard, was amazing to me : but there was a 
great work to do, to make me fit for any thing at 
all. Surely he called me oftener than he did Sam- 
uel, when he was a child. 

46. But after I was savingly converted to God, 
he was pleased to pour into my heart a measure of 
his universal love ; and when my heart was filled 
with love toward God, and good will to all man- 
kind, then a longing desire that all people might 
taste and see the riches of his grace, continued 
with me day and night : thru a strong impression 
to go in the fear of the Lord and speak to men of 
all descriptions, seemed to be required of me. 



SOLOMON BAYLEY. 63 

47. But ! dear friend ! after my mind was 
thus prepared, I had a great warfare and strife ; 
first with man fear, and a man-pleasing spirit ; then 
with shame, and desire of praise and a good name. 
Now, dear friend, in this exercise of mind, there 
were some scriptures came into my mind, to en- 
courage and strengthen me ; such as, 2 Cor. xii. 
9; 2 Kings v. 4; [enumerating many of this de- 
scription.] All these scriptures mightily helped to 
encourage me to go forward in speaking to a dying 
people the words of eternal life. 

48. ! what an affecting view of the worth of 
souls came into my mind ! and I thought if I could 
be made instrumental in the hand of the Lord in 
saving one soul, it would be matter of rejoicing to 
all eternity. So I went on, trusting in the Lord ; 
but I should soon have fainted in mind, if it had 
not been for the encouragement I met with, both 
from God and man. Now to him that sits upon 
the throne, be honor and praise, world without 
end. Amen. 

With good wishes to thee and thine, I conclude, 
Thy friend, 

Solomon Bayley. 
Third month, 26th, 1821. 



64 SOLOMON BAYLEY 



The following additional information respecting Solomon Bayley, 
was received from Daniel Coo ledge, of New York, in the sum 
mer of 1836. 

Solomon Bayley, when in this city some years 
ago, was frequently at my house, taking his meals, 
&c. ; and we were instructed by his Christian de- 
meanor, for he seemed to do every thing with 
reference to the glory of God, and for the promo- 
tion of his righteous cause in the earth, — being 
also very cleanly in his person. 

50. When he removed from Havti to Monrovia, 
in Africa, he had buried all his children, and most 
of them after they had arrived at the age of men 
and women ; and just before leaving Monrovia on 
a tour to America, his wife died also, and he was 
left alone. 

51. When he first arrived at Monrovia, he took 
up a lot of ground of seven acres, which emigrants 
are entitled to, and cleared and cultivated it for 
his support, and built a house immediately on the 
margin of a river. He however left a large spread- 
ing tree, whose branches hung over the water. 
Under this tree he built a platform, where he sits 
to read and meditate in the middle of the day, 
during the hot season of the year, — working in the 
cool of the morning and evening. 

52. After his return from America, he married a 
second wife, said to be a very suitable person. 



SOLOMON BAYLEY. 65 

He has a society that he preaches to, and he is 
also looked up to as a father and counsellor by the 
people generally. Although he is aged, he seems 
to retain much of the strength and vigor of youth. 

53. The last accounts from him say, that he 
was very diligent and faithful in his calling, — la- 
boring not only for the souls of his brethren, but 
for their bodies also — by setting them the best ex- 
ample he was capable of, in cultivating his land to 
the best advantage, and by improving his plans, to 
show the natives, as well as the emigrants, the 
usefulness and comforts of civilized life. 

54. He seemed, when here, to feel quite as live- 
ly an interest in the welfare of the natives, as in 
that of the emigrants, saying, " They come a long 
distance to learn the manners and customs of the 
emigrants, and take great delight in imitating 
them." When in this city, he often attended 
Friends' meetings, and on hearing one of their 
ministers preach from this text, " That which is 
wanting cannot be numbered," the tears ran down 
his aged face like water. 

6* 



6C SOLOMON BAYLEY. 



SOLOMON BAYLEY's NIGHT THOUGHTS ; 



Or, a short sermon on Romans, 8th chapter, last part of 9th verse, " If any 
man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." 



Now may the Lord bless all into whose hands 
this may come. And that he may bless every one 
that reads, and all who hear, and that they may 
have him as a satisfying portion, in time and in 
eternity ; through the power and merits of the 
same Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. 

50. And every one that has the Spirit of Christ, 
has a title to heaven. Wherefore, dearly beloved 
and dear-bought souls, let that mind be in you 
which was in Christ Jesus, which was a meek and 
lowly mind — a pitiful and loving mind — a forgiv- 
ing mind — a constant mind. Now, where the 
Spirit of Christ reigns in any man, it makes bin 
a Christian. Then he is not proud and lifted up; 
lit 1 will speak the truth ; he will do as he would be 
done by ; and that not for praise, but for con- 
science' sake. 

57. Now no man can love the truth, except he 
is born of the Spirit of Christ — then he has the 
mind of Christ : which meek and quiet spirit, is, 
in the sight of God, of great price. And to con- 
tinue this discourse, by way of improvement, say, 
1st, Knowledge is not religion — to join one per- 
suasion is not religion — or to join all names — that 



SOLOMON BAYLEY. 67 

is not religion. " Well," say you, " what is reli- 
gion ?" I answer, Religion is to have the love of 
God shed abroad in the heart ; which is always 
found in true repentance. Now there can be no 
true repentance, except a man forsake all known 
sin. 

58. If the reader would ask, " What is repent- 
ance ?" — it is a godly sorrow for sins past ; and 
where this godly sorrow is felt in any one, it de- 
stroys the love of sin. Now no man can ever 
hate sin, until he well considers, and feels what 
was the consequence of sin at first, what is the 
consequence of sin at present, and what will be 
the consequence of sin hereafter. Now if any 
one would ask, " What is sin ?" I would answer, 
Sin is the transgression of the law. For all the 
law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, " Thou 
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," Gal. v. 14. 

59. Now consider well, and keep your eye on 
the text, " If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, 
he is none of his." I believe it is the will of our 
heavenly Father that all his children should love 
him above all ; and then that love of God in them 
would make them love one another ; and then they 
would have no disposition to fight at home or 
abroad. But there is no killing and overcoming a 
fighting spirit, while men gratify their pride, the 
pride of life, instead of mortifying the deeds of the 
body. 

60. I believe the Lord is effecting a great work 



68 SOLOMON BAYLEY. 

with the temperance societies ; in order that right- 
eousness may cover the earth, as the waters do 
the great deep. But if man will be proud, then 
he cannot bear the cross. So then it appears that 
pride is the cause of all the evil done under the 
sun. So I have considered all fighting Christians 
under the power of delusion ; though it is a pop- 
ular delusion, it can never stand the test, accord- 
ing to the text, " For if any man have not the 
Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." 

61. Now the Spirit of Christ is clearly exem 
plified in his meek, and lowly, and patient suffer- 
ing ; and he did this to show all people the way 
to heaven, but pride prompts people to say, " No, 
I will seek some other way." Now there are a 
great many, here in Liberia, that have joined the 
temperance society, but they have missed the 
mark, for nearly all believe they can still ficrht and 
get to heaven, as well as those who follow peace 
with all men, and holiness. 

62. Now this would be a safe conclusion for all 
to come to : — Say, if any man follow Christ Jesus 
the Lord, in the way of his requirings, he would 
make way for him, and cast up a way for him to 
walk in here, as long as he in his wisdom thought 
good ; ami then he would take him to himself in 
heaven. "Fear not them that kill the body;* 1 
but tear (Jod, and him only. Amen. 



SOLOMON BAYLEV. 69 



SERMON SECOND. 

*For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even this, Thou shalt love ihy 
neighbor as thyself."— Gal. v. 14. 

Now I mentioned in my former discourse, that 
it is the will of our heavenly Father, that all his 
children should love him ; and then they would 
love one another ; and then they would be fit to 
live, and fit to die ; then that love would destroy 
the fighting spirit, and it would prepare all people 
to live with God in heaven ; " who will have all 
men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge 
of the truth," 1 Tim. ii. 4, 6 ; " who gave himself 
a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." ! 
that the Lord may undeceive every deceived soul, 
for Jesus Christ's sake ! 

64. Now while pride remains in any people, 
passion will have the uppermost hand of their 
judgment ; therefore it is absolutely necessary that 
all men love God, and that with all the heart, soul, 
mind, and strength, and their neighbor as them- 
selves ; for on these two commandments hang all 
the law and the prophets. 

65. Reader, believe me, this love of God is a 
consuming fire — it consumes and burns up all the 
dross and tin of base desire, and sets the man at 
war with sin, and against all evil : then he begins 
to study the art of holy living; then he sees he 



70 SOLOMON BAT LET. 

must deny self, take up his daily cross and follow 
Christ, or else he cannot get to heaven, where 
Christ sitteth, at the right hand of God. 

66. Now the Almighty God is trying to bring in 
everlasting righteousness, and to make an end of 
sin, according to Daniel ix. 24. But it cannot be 
while Christians fight. ! how long, how long, 
will fighting Christians continue to build their 
tower on high — that is to say, to pray good prayers, 
and preach good doctrine, and yet fight one another, 
and say " they have Christ formed in them, the 
hope of glory !" 

67. Now it seems these are willing to have 
Christ and heaven, but not in that inoffensive way 
that Christ set us an example ; for he submitted 
himself, and became obedient unto death ; there- 
fore God also hath highly exalted him, and hath 
given him a name which is above every name ; 
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, 
and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ 
is Lord, to the glory of God the Father, Phil. ii. 

68. And to conclude — may God, for Christ's 
sake, grant unto all that own his name, power to 
trust in him ; that Christ may dwell in your hearts, 
by faith ; that you, being rooted and grounded in 
love, may be able to comprehend, witli all saints, 
what is the breadth and length, and depth and 
height, ami to know the love of God tb,at passeth 
knowledge — that you might be filled with all the 
fulness of God; then his kingdom would come, 



SOLOMON BAYLEY* 



71 



and his will be done, on earth as it is in heaven, 
Into which blessed state may he bring all, and 
every one, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
Farewell. Solomon Bayley. 

P. S. With my own hand, &c., I write. The 
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with our spirits 
now and for evermore., 

Caldwell, Africa, 1th month 27, 1836. 

New York, Wh month 9th, 1830. 
The two preceding discourses were recently sent me by our friend 
Solomon Bayley, by the hand of John Seys, wbo is a Methodist 
missionary at Monrovia, Liberia, Africa, and lately returned. Solo- 
mon says he wishes all those who have read his Journal may 
have these discourses, as his last will and testament to them. 

d. a 

Copy of a Letter from Solomon Bayley to Daniel 
Cooledge, New York. 

Dear Friends and Friendly People, — Your 
kindness come safe to hand : — say, a bundle of 
books in paper, an^ a box of books and nails ; a 
little box in a big box, with some pins, and needles, 
and thread ; two caps, [for his wife,] one shirt, two 
handkerchiefs, and one dollar. I found three let- 
ters in the bundles, and was not a little comforted ; 
for when I consider the distance, and little acquaint- 
ance I had had with my New York friends, I 
thought, surely it was the good Shepherd that put 
it into your hearts to send me a blessing; then I 
said, Surely his mercy endureth for ever. 



72 SOLOMON BAYLET. 

70. Surely I desire to thank him for this late 
token of his mercy and goodness to me : and I here 
send my thanks to every one of you that has re- 
membered me for good; and I pray that the good 
Shepherd may remember your good, and feed you 
with food convenient for you always. Amen. And 
now, dear friends, I might tell you what made me 
so glad to receive your blessings, — here has been 
almost a famine this year. 

71. Now none but the Searcher of hearts can 
tell how I felt. Now there was a cause why this 
distress happened ; which was this war in the 
country round about us, among the natives. So 
they confused their own planting, and did not make 
bread. Then our neicrhborinrj tribes that wished to 
be prolected by us, came buying bread, and we had 
not got rice out of the country because of the war. 

72. We had to live mostly on cassada and pota- 
toes. So we were deceived, not getting rice as 
usual to make our bread stuff holu out. We were 
stripped so near, fear broke in -upon us on every 
side ; but there was too much cause to fear, be- 
cause the Lord had spoken, that if a house or a 
kingdom be divided against itself, it is brought to 
desolation; and it is sorrow£ul to say, we were too 
much divided both in.ehurch and political affairs. 
O ! when will the professors of religion cease to 
behave unseemly ! 

73. Now may the Lord bless S W 

and all his, and may lie give him skill and under- 



SOLOMON B.YYLEY. 73 

standing, that he may know how to sow his seed 
in the morning,. and in the evening hold not back, 
and grant him a plentiful harvest at the resurrec- 
tion of the just. 

74. Now it come into my mind expressly, after 
my friend John Seys left, that I ought to have 
mentioned in that letter of mine, how long it had 
been since that impression rose in my mind ;* and 
here you see that in the 26th year of my age, I was 
favored to find repentance for sins past ; then an 
inquiry rose which was the sure way to heaven ; 
then to follow Christ appeared to be the only sure 
way ; that has been about forty-three years ago. 

75. Now in love to thee and thy dear family, 
and all the dear friends that ask after me, I con- 
clude, thy friend, Solomon Bayley. 

Caldwell, Africa, 9th monUi 22c/, 1836; 

The following, of the same date, was addressed 
to 

I received thy letter, thy few lines, dated 6th 
month, 1836; and O ! how the goodness of God 
did come before me ! Thee mentioned a few trifles 
sent me; then I remembered the two miles of the 
poor widow, which she cast into the treasury, which, 
in the judgment of Truth, was esteemed more than 
all the rest — not in bulk, but sincerity. 

* The impression of the inconsistency of war, as set forth in Ml 
eermons. 



74 CLARINDA 

76. O ! what a great step toward heaven, to act 
with a pure intention ! So I think I may here sa- 
lute thee as the angel did the Virgin Mary, and 
say, " Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord 
is with thee." And I pray that he may abide with 
thee for ever, and that he may guide thee by his 
counsel, and afterward receive thee to glory. 

And here I subscribe myself thy lasting friend, 
and well-wisher every way. 

Solomon Bayley. 

On St. Paul's river, near Monrovia. 



CLARINDA, 



A P10U9 COLORED WOMAN OF SOUTH CAROLINA, WHO DIED AT 
Till: ACE OF 102 YEARS. 

The subject of this memoir was brought up in a 
state of ignorance unworthy of a Christian country; 

and following the propensities of a corrupt heart, 
she was, by her own confession, " sold under sin," 
and involved in almost every species of iniquity. 
And for the furtherance of her wicked designs, she 
learned to play on the violin, and usually, on the 
fust dav of the week, sallied forth with her instru- 
ment, in order to draw persons of both sexes to- 
gether, who, not having the fear of (>od before 
their eyes, delighted, like herself, in sinful and 



CLARINDA. 76 

pernicious amusements, which keep the soul from 
God, and the heart from repentance. 

2. But even on these occasions she found it diffi- 
cult to struggle against the Spirit of the Most High. 
Often was it sounded in her conscience, " Clarinda, 
God ought not to be slighted — God ought not to 
be forgotten :" but these monitions were treated 
with derision, and in the hardness of her heart she 
would exclaim, "Go, you fool, I do not know 
God — go, I do not wish to know him." 

3. On one occasion, while on her way to a dance, 
these blasphemous thoughts, in answer to the mo- 
nitions of conscience, were passing through her 
mind, and in this frame she reached the place of 
appointment, and mingled in the gay throng. 
While participating in the dance, she was seized 
with fits, and convulsively fell to the ground. From 
that moment, she lost her love of dancing, and no 
more engaged in this vain amusement. 

4. She did not, however, forsake the evil of her 
ways, but continued her course of wickedness. 
Thus she went on for about twenty years, when 
she lost her only child, and was confined for sev- 
eral months by severe illness. During this period 
of bodily suffering, her mind was brought under 
awful convictions for sin : she perceived that the 
great Jehovah is a sin-hating and sin-avenging 
God, and that he will by no means clear the guilty. 

5. She remained in a distressed state of mind 
for about three months, and when a little bodily 



76 CXARHtBA. 

strength was restored, she sought solitary places', 
where she poured out her soul unto the Lord, and 
in his own good time he spoke peace to hei 
■wounded spirit. One day, being thus engaged in 
earnest prayer, and looking unto the Lord for de- 
liverance, the evening approached unregarded, her 
soul was deeply humbled, and the night passed in 
prayer, while rivers of tears (to use her own ex- 
pressive language) ran down her cheeks, and she 
ceased not to implore mercy from him who is able 
to bind up the broken-hearted. 

6. While thus engaged, and all this time igno- 
rant of her Saviour, something whispered to her 
mind, " Ask in the name of Christ." She queried, 
"Who is Christ?" and in reply, these passages of 
Scripture seemed repeated to her : " Let not your 
heart be troubled; ye believe in Cod, believe also 
in me." " In my Father's house are many man- 
sions : I go to prepare a place for you, that where 
I am there ye may be also." " I am the way, the 
truth, and the life ; no man eometh unto the Father 
but by me." 

7. Being desirous to know whence these im- 
pressions proceeded, she was made to believe that 
they were received through the influence of the 
Holy Spirit. This remarkable passage was also 
presented to her mind : '• Therefore, being justified 
by faith, we have peace with God through our 
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." 

8. She was likewise reminded of several dreams 



CLAIUNDA. 77 

she had formerly had ; in one of which a person 
appeared to her and led her to a place into which 
she was permitted to look, where she saw the 
spirits of just men made perfect, but was informed 
she could not enter therein. He then gave her a 
vial and a candle, telling her to keep the vial clean, 
and the candle burning till he came. She now saw 
that the vial was her heart, and the candle the 
Spirit of the Lord. 

9. In narrating this circumstance to a friend, she 
enlarged instructively on the necessity of keeping 
the heart, since out of it are the issues of life; adding, 
" The eye sees and the heart lusts after the pleas- 
ures and possessions of this world ; but the cross 
of self-denial must be borne — no outside religion 
will do." She now felt the love of God shed abroad 
in her heait; the overwhelming burden of sin was 
removed, and she received ability to sing praises 
to the Lord on the banks of deliverance. 

10. Having been thus permitted to sec the de- 
sire of her soul, she was anxious to learn more of 
the divine will, and inquired, like the apostle, 
" Lord ! what wilt thou have me to do ?" and like 
him she was commanded to be a witness of what 
she had seen and heard. Believing she had a 
commission given her to preach the gospel, she 
began to warn the sinful and licentious, that they 
must crucify the man of sin, or for ever forego the 
hope of salvation. 

11. This raised her a host of enemies, both 

7* 



7^ CLARIXDA. 

white and colored ; and she underwent, many years, 
cruelly and persecution which could hardly obtain 
credence. She bore about on her body the visible 
marks of her faithful allegiance to the Lord Jesus ; 
yet, while alluding to this, tears filled her eyes, and 
she said with emotion, " I am thankful that I 
have been found worthy to suffer for my blessed 
Saviour." 

12. Although living in great poverty, and sub- 
sisting at times on casual charity, with health im- 
paired by the sufferings through which she had 
passed, yet neither promises of protection, accom- 
panied with the oiler of the good things of this 
life, on the one hand, nor the dreadful persecution 
she endured on the other, could make her relin- 
quish the office of a minister of the gospel. 

13. This office she continued to exercise, hold- 
ing meetings regularly on the first day of the week, 
at her own little habitation, where a greater num- 
ber a' times assembled than could be accommo- 
dated in the house. It may be interesting to add 
some particulars relative to the trial of her faith 
and the persecution she suffered. 

II. One individual in whose neighborhood she 
lived, who was much annoyed by hearing her sing 
and pray, offered, if she would desist, to provide 
her witli a home and the comforts of life ; but she 
replied, she had received a commission to preach 
the gospel, and she won!,; preach it as long as she 
had breath. Several ill-intentioned persons one 



CLARINDA. 79 

night surrounded her house, and commanded her 
to come out to them. This she refused to do. 
After threatening her for some time, they forced 
open the door, and having seized their victim, they 
beat her cruelly, so that her head was deeply in- 
dented with the blows she received. 

15. At another time she was so much injured 
that she was left nearly lifeless on the open road, 
whither she had fled to escape from them ; but her 
unsuccessful efforts increased the rage of her pur- 
suers, and after treating her with the utmost bar- 
barity, they left her. She was found after some 
time, but so exhausted by the loss of blood, that 
she was unable to walk ; and from the effects of 
that cruelty she did not recover for years. But it 
may be said of her, that she joyfully bore persecu- 
tion for Christ's sake. 

16. A man who lived in the same village, being 
much incensed at the undaunted manner in which 
she stood forth as a minister of the meek and cru- 
cified Saviour, swore that he would beat her se- 
verely if ever he found an opportunity. One even- 
ing, as she was walking home on a solitary road, 
she saw this person riding toward her. She knew 
his intentions, and from his character she did not 
doubt that he would execute them. 

17. She trembled from head to foot; escape 
seemed impracticable, and prayer was her only 
refuge. As he advanced, she observed that his 
handkerchief fell and was wafted by the wind to a 



80 CLARINDA. 

little distance. She picked it up — he stopped his 
horse, and she handed it to him in a submissive 
manner ; he looked at her fiercely for a moment, 
when his countenance softened ; he took it, say- 
ing, " Well, Clarinda," and passed on. 

18. She was not able to read a word till her 
66th year; but she was in ihe practice of getting 
persons to read the Holy Scriptures for her ; much 
of which she retained in her memory with remark- 
able accuracy. By dint of application, she was at 
length able to read them herself; and those who 
visited her in advanced life, found her knowledge 
of the Scriptures, as well as her growth in grace, 
very surprising. 

19. When she was one hundred years old, and 
very feeble, she would, if able to get out of bed, on 
the morning of the firs', day of the week, discharge 
what she thought to be her duty, by conversing 
with and exhorting both the white and colored 
people who came to her house ; often Btanding for 
halt an hour at a time. Her zeal was indeed great, 
and her faith steadfast. 

20. She said she often wished she could write, 
that she might in this way also express her anxiety 
for the good of souls. Then she would have de- 
scribed more of the exercises of her mind upon the 
depravity of man by nature and by practice, with 
the unbounded and redeeming love and mercy of 
God through J< sua Christ. 

21. The person who givea the account of Clarin- 



CLARINDA. 81 

da's death, says, " I was prevented from seeing her 
often in her last moments ; when I did she was 
always the same — her one theme the love of God 
to poor sinners, which was always her style of 
speaking. One day, as I sat by her bedside, she 
said to me, 'Do yon think I am a Christian?' 
' Yes,' I answered, ' I do believe you are a Chris- 
tian.' ' I have tried to be,' she replied, ' but now 
that I suffer in my body, when I think what an un- 
profitable servant I have been, I am distressed.' 
She then wept. 'You know,' I said, ' it is not how 
much we can do, but what we do sincerely for the 
love of Christ, that is acceptable.' She seemed 
comforted, and talked as usual. 

22. " She showed me much affection when I left 

her, saying, ' I shall not live long, my dear ,' 

and, adding a few other words, blessed me, and bid 
me pray for her. She had frequently expressed 
her fears of the bodily sufferings of death, but not 
accompanied with a dread of eternal death. I ask- 
ed her, when she was ill, if she now feared to die. 
She said, ' No ; this fear was taken away some- 
time previous to my illness.' " 

23. She requested that her people, as she called 
them, might continue to meet at her house ; but 
this was not allowed. I am told they sometimes 
meet elsewhere, and are called " Clarinda's Peo- 
ple." When dying, she told those near her, to fol- 
low her only as she had followed Christ. Her 
death occurred in 1832. "Those that be planted 



82 NAIMBANNA. 

in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts 
of our God. They shall bring forth fruit in old 
age." 

24. While perusing this remarkable account of 
" a brand plucked from the burning," let those who 
from their earliest years have enjoyed the inesti- 
mable privilege of access to the sacred volume, and 
various other religious means, seriously consider 
the blessed Saviour's words — "To whom much is 
given, of him shall much be required." 



NAIMBANNA. 

When the Sierra Leone Company was first set- 
tled, they endeavored to bring over to their friend- 
ship, all the petty African princes in their neigh- 
borhood. Among others, they applied to a chief of 
the name of Naimbanna, who was remarkable for 
a good disposition, and an acute understanding. 
He easily saw that the intention of the company 
was friendly to Africa, and entered into amity with 
them, 

2. They spoke to him about the slave trade, 
and gave him reasons for wishing to have it abol- 
ished. He was convinced of its vileness; and de- 
clared, that not one of his subjects should ever go 
into slavery again. By degrees, they began to talk 



NAIMBANNA. 83 

to him about religion ; but he was rather wary on 
that head. It seems he had formed some preju- 
dices against Christianity. 

3. Finding, however, that the factory contained 
a very good sort of people, and that they lived 
happily among themselves, he began to think more 
favorably of their religion ; but he was still back- 
ward either in receiving it himself, or in making it 
the religion of his country. He was well convinced 
of the barbarous state of his own people, on a 
comparison with Europeans, and he wished for 
nothing, more than a reformation among them, es- 
pecially in religion. 

4. But as he found there were several kinds (or 
forms) of religion in the world, he wished to know 
which was the best, before he introduced either of 
them. To ascertain this point as well as he could, 
he took the following method. He sent one of his 
sons into Turkey, among the Mohammedans ; a 
second into Portugal, among the Papists ; and a 
third he recommended to the Sierra Leone Com- 
pany, desiring they would send him to England, 
to be there instructed in the religion of that coun- 
try. 

5. It appears he meant to be directed by the re- 
ports of his sons, in the choice of a national religion. 
Of the two former of these young men, we have 
no particulars, only that one of them became very 
vicious. The last mentioned, though I believe the 
eldest, bore his father's name, Naimbanna. The 



84 NAIMBANNA. 

Sierra Leone Company received the charge of 
him with great pleasure, believing that nothing 
could have a better effect in promoting their 
benevolent schemes, than making him a good 
Christian. 

6. Young Naimbanna was a perfect African in 
form, and had that bluntness of feature, with which 
the African face is commonly marked. While he 
was with the company, he seemed a well-disposed, 
tractable youth ; but when opposed, he was impa- 
tient, fierce, and subject to violent passion. In the 
first ship that sailed he was sent to England, where 
he arrived in the year 1791. 

7. We may imagine with what astonishment he 
surveyed every object that came before him : but 
his curiosity, in prudent hands, became, from the 
first, the medium of useful instruction. During his 
voyage, he acquired some knowledge of the Eng- 
lish language ; and although lie could not speak it 
with any degree of fluency, he could understand 
much of what he heard spoken : which greatly fa- 
cilitated his learning it, when he applied to it in a 
more regular way. 

8. The difficulty of learning to speak and read 
being in a great degree subdued, he was put upon 
the grand point for which he was sent to England — 
that of being instructed in the Christian religion. 
The gentlemen to whose care he had been recom- 
mended, alternately took him under their protec- 
tion; and each gaye up his whole time to him, 



NAIMBA.NNA. 85 

faithfully discharging the trust which he had volun- 
tarily, and without any emolument, undertaken. 

9. Naimbanna was first made acquainted with 
the value of the Bible ; the most material parts of 
the Old Testament, as well as the New, were ex- 
plained to him. Tjie great necessity of a Saviour, 
for the sinfulness of man, was pointed out ; the 
end and design of Christianity, its doctrines, its 
precepts, and its sanctions, were all made intelli- 
gible to him. With a clearness of understanding 
which astonished those who took the care of in- 
structing him, he made those divine truths familiar 
to his mind. He received the gospel with joy, and 
carried it home to his heart as the means of hap- 
piness both in this world and the next. 

10. His love for reading the Scriptures, and 
hearing them read, was such, that he never was 
tired of the exercise. Every other part of learning 
that he was put upon, as arithmetic, for instance, 
was heavy work with him, and he soon began to 
complain of fatigue ; but even when he was most 
fatigued, if he was asked to read in the Bible, he 
was always ready, and generally expressed his 
readiness by some emotions of joy. 

11. In short, he considered the Bible as the rule 
which was to direct his life ; and he made a real 
use of every piece of instruction which he obtained 
from it. This was evident in all his actions. If his 
behaviour was at any time wrong, and a passage of 
Scripture was shown to him, which forbade such 

8 



86 NAIMBANNA. 

behaviour, whatever it was, he instantly complied 
with the rule he received. Of this, there were 
man)' instances. 

12. One related to dress. He had a little vanity 
about him, was fond of finery, admired it in other 
people, and was always readv to adorn himself. 
His kind instructors told him these were childish 
inclinations ; that decency and propriety of dress 
are pleasing, but that foppery is disgusting. Above 
all, they told him that the Christian is ordered " to 
be clothed with humility, and to put on the orna- 
ment of a meek and quiet spirit." Such passages, 
whenever they were suggested to him, checked all 
the little vanities of his heart ; and made him 
ashamed of what he had just before so eagerly 
desired. 

13. The irritable passions, where lay his weak- 
est side, were conquered in the same way. His 
friends once carried him to the House of Com- 
mons, to hear a debate on the slave trade, which 
Colonel Tarlton defended with some warmth. 
When Naimbanna came out of the house, he ex- 
claimed with great vehemence and indignation, that 
he would kill that man wherever he met him ; for 
he told stories of his country. He told people that 
his countrymen would not work ; and that was a 
great story. His countrymen would work : but 
Englishmen would not buy work ; they would buy 
only men. 

14. His friends told him that he should not be 



NAIMBANNA. 87 

angry with Colonel Tarlton, for perhaps he had 
been misinformed, and knew no better. Besides, 
they told him that, at any rate, he had no right to 
kill him : for the Almighty says, " Vengeance is 
mine, I will repay it, saith the Lord." This calmed 
him in a moment; and he never afterward express- 
ed the least indignation toward Colonel Tarlton ; 
but he would have been ready to show him any 
friendly office, if it had fallen in his way. 

15. At another time, when he saw a drayman 
using his horse ill, he fired at it exceedingly, and 
declared he would get a gun, and shoot that fellow 
directly. But his anger was presently assuaged 
by this or some similar passage of Scripture : " Be 
ye angry, and sin not : let not the sun go down 
upon thy wrath." He showed so much tenderness 
of conscience, that he seemed anxious about no- 
thing but to know what his religion required him 
to do. 

16. When he could determine the rectitude of 
an action, he set an example even to Christians, 
by showing that he thought there was no difficulty 
in the performance. He said his father had order- 
ed him, when he arrived in England, never to drink 
more at one time than a single glass of wine ; and 
he considered his father's injunction as sacred. On 
this head, therefore, all the instruction which he 
wanted, was, to turn his temperance into a Chris- 
tian virtue, by practising it with a sincere desire to 
please God. 



88 NAIMBANNA. 

17. In the gay scenes which often presented 
themselves to his view, he never mixed. His 
friends were very solicitous to keep him from 
all dissipation which might have corrupted the 
beautiful simplicity of mind that was so charac- 
teristic in him. He was fond of riding on horse- 
back, but when he got upon a horse, it was diffi- 
cult to govern his desire for rapid motion. After 
being in England a year and a half, and being 
carefully instructed in the Christian religion, which 
he well understood, he was baptized, and only 
waited for an opportunity of returning home ; 
which did not occur for five or six months after- 
ward. 

18. In the mean time, two great points were 
the burden of his thoughts, and gave him much 
distress. The first related to his father, whose 
death he heard had happened about a year after he 
left the country. The principal cause of his soli- 
citude, was his uncertainty whether his father had 
died a Christian. He knew that he had been well 
disposed toward Christianitv, but he had never 
heard whether he had fully embraced it. 

19. His other difficulty regarded himself. He 
had now attained the end at which he had aimed. 
He had been instructed in a religion, which he was 
convinced would promote the happiness of his peo- 
ple, if it could be established among them. But 
how was that to be done ? With regard to himself, 
he had had wise and learned men to instruct him. 



NAIMBANNA. 89 

But what could his abilities do in such a work — 
especially considering the wild and savage man- 
ners of his countrymen ? Jn every light, the great- 
ness of the attempt perplexed him. 

20. With a mind distressed by these difficulties, 
he took an affectionate leave of his kind friends in 
England, and embarked for Africa in one of the 
company's ships, which was named, after him, the 
Naimbanna. Though he had shown great affection 
for his own country and relations, yet the kindness 
which he had received from his friends in England, 
had impressed him strongly ; and it was not with- 
out a great struggle that he broke away from them 
at last. 

21. The distress he felt, was increased by the 
society he mixed in at sea — being very different 
from that which he had left behind. The profligate 
manners and licentious language of the ship's com- 
pany shocked him exceedingly. The purity of his 
mind could not bear it. He had hoped, that in a 
Christian country he should always find himself 
among Christians ; but he was greatly disap- 
pointed. 

22. The company he was in, appeared to him 
as ignorant and uninformed as his own country- 
men, and much less innocent in their manners. At 
length, the oaths, and abominable conversation 
which he continually heard, affected him so much, 
that he complained to the captain of the ship, and 
desiied him to put a stop to so indecent language. 

8* 



90 NAIMBANNA. 

The captain endeavored to check it, but with little 
effect ; which gave Naimbanna increased distress. 

23. But still the great burden of his mind, was 
the difficulty which he foresaw in the attempt to 
introduce Christianity among his countrymen. 
Many were the schemes he thought of; but insu- 
perable obstacles seemed to arise on every side. 
All this perplexity which his active and generous 
mind underwent, recoiled upon himself. 

24. His thoughts were continually on the 
stretch ; and this it was supposed, at length occa- 
sioned a fever, which seized him when his voyage 
was nearly at an end. His malady increasing, it 
was attended with delirium, which left him only a 
few lucid intervals. In these, his mind always 
shone out full of religious hope, .and patient resig- 
nation to the will of God. 

25. In one of these intervals, he told Mr. Gra- 
ham, a fellow-passenger, with whom he was most 
intimate, that he began to think he should be called 
away, before he had an opportunity to tell his 
mother of the mercies of God toward him, and of 
his obligations to the Sierra Leone Company. He 
then desired him to write his will, which he began 
in the presence of Captain ^'ooles and James 
Cato, a black servant that attended Naimbanna. 

20. When Mr. Graham had written a consider- 
able, as particularly directed, manifesting the feel- 
ings and generosity of his heart, Naimbanna com- 
plained of fatigue, and said he would finish it after 



NAIMBANNA. 91 

he had taken a little rest. But his fever came on 
with increased violence, and his delirium scarcely 
ever left him afterward. 

27. The night after, the vessel, though close to 
the African coast, durst not attempt to land, as the 
wind was contrary, and there was danger of run- 
ning on the Scarries bank. Next morning, though 
the wind continued contrary, Mr. Graham went off 
to the settlement in an open boat to procure med- 
ical aid. But when the physician came on board, 
Naimbanna was just alive ; and in that state he 
was carried to the settlement, the next morning, 
July 17th, 1793, when the ship came to anchor. 

28. On the first account of his illness, an ex- 
press was sent to inform his friends at Robanna; 
and soon after he was landed, his mother, brothers, 
sisters, and relatives, came to the settlement. The 
distracted looks of his mother, and the wildness of 
his sisters' grief, affected every one. His cousin 
Henry, an ingenuous youth, who stood among 
them, attracted the attention of all, by the solemn 
sorrow of his countenance, which seemed to dis- 
cover a heart full of tenderness and wo. In the 
mean time, the dying youth appeared every mo- 
ment drawing nearer the close of life. 

29. His voice failing more and more, the little 
he said was with difficulty understood. Once or 
twice, those who stood around him caught hold of 
something like our Saviour's words : " Many are 
called, but few chosen." About an hour before he 



92 NAIMBANNA. 

died, his voice wholly failed. He was a while 
restless and uneasy, till, turning his head on his 
pillow, he found an easier posture, and lay per- 
fectly quiet. 

30. About seven in the evening of ihe day on 
which he was brought on shore, he expired without 
a groan. When his mother and other relatives 
found his breath was gone, their shrieks and ago- 
nizing cries were distressing beyond measure. In- 
stantly, in a kind of frantic madness, they snatched 
up his body, hurried it into a canoe, and went off 
with it to Robanna. Some of the gentlemen of the 
factory immcdiatelv followed in boats, with a 
coffin. 

31. When the corpse was laid decently into it, 
Mr. Home, the clergyman, read the funeral service 
over it, amid a number of people, and finished with 
an extempore praver. The ceremony was con- 
ducted with so much solemnity, ami performed in 
so affecting a manner, that the impression was 
communicated throughout the whole crowd. They 
drew closer and closer, as Mr. Home continued to 
speak; and though they understood not a syllable 
of what he said, they listened to him with great 
attention, and bore witness, with every mark of 
sorrow, to the powers of sympathy. 

32. After the ceremony was over, the gentlemen 
of the factory retired to their boats, leaving the 
corpse, as his friend desired, to be buried according 
to the custom of the country. We mix our grief 



NAIMBANNA. 93 

with theirs ; and shut up, in the inscrutable coun- 
sels of God, all inquiries into the reasons why so 
invaluable a life was permitted to be cut off, just 
at the time of its greatest probable utility. 

33. In Naimbanna's pocket-book were found, 
after his death, two little notes, which show the 
great sensibility of his mind in religious matters. 
They relate to a circumstance already noticed, — 
the disgust which he took at the behaviour of 
the ship's company. The first appears to have 
been written soon after he embarked. " I shall 
take care of this company which I now have 
fallen into ; for they swear good deal, and talk all 
manner of wickedness, and filthy ; all these things. 
Can I be able to resist this temptation ? No, I 
cannot , but the Lord will deliver me." 

34. The other memorandum was probably writ- 
ten after he complained to the captain. " June 
28th, 1793.— I have this day declared, that if Si- 
erra Leone's vessels should be like to Naimbanna, 
or have a company like her, I will never think of 
coming to England again, though I have friends 
there as dear to me as the last words my father 
spoke, when he gave up the ghost." 

35. The history of Naimbanna is a beautiful 
illustration of our blessed Saviour's injunction to 
" receive the gospel as little children :" and it 
should convince us, that if ive are desirous to re- 
ceive it in this manner, we should endeavor care- 
fully to separate it from the evil customs and 



94 MARGARET ANN CRUTCHF1 ELD. 

practices of the world ; which is one of the most 
necessary, and, at the same time, one of the se- 
verest duties of a state of trial. 



MARGARET ANN CRUTCHFIELD, 

A CHEROKEE CONVERT. 

Written by the late Mrs. Gambold, wife of the Moravian Mission- 
ary at Spring Place in the Cherokee nation. 

Our late beloved sister, Margaret Ann, was born 
August 20, 1783. Her father, Walter Scott, was 
agent in the nation under the British government ; 
and her mother, Sarah Wilburn, was a sister of 
brother Charles Renatus Hicks. 

2. Her first husband was the celebrated Chero- 
kee chief, James Yann ; during whose lifetime, she 
evinced an affection for the missionaries in her 
neighborhood at Spring Place ; and as often as it 
was in her power, she attended our meetings — not 
without evident concern for her soul. 

3. In 1808, a negro woman belonging to her, 
departed this life in the faith of our crucified Sa- 
viour ; which made a deep and lasting impression 
on her mistress. February 19th, 1S09, she had 
the great grief to lose her husband by means of a 
violent death. The three years of her widowhood 



MARGARET ANN CRUTCHFIELD. 95 

proved the most important period of her life. By 
the gracious operations of the Holy Spirit on her 
heart, she learned to know her natural sinfulness. 

4. The opinion she had harbored of herself, as 
being superior to others of her countrywomen, now 
presented itself to her in a most hideous form, so 
that she shuddered at the sight of her wicked heart, 
and felt and acknowledged herself the greatest sin- 
ner among them. She cried incessantly for mercy 
and pardon ; and, amid floods of tears, she sought 
and found her Saviour. 

5. In July, 1812, she again entered the marriage 
state, with our now widowed brother, Joseph 
Crutchfield, a cousin of her former husband. His 
becoming, after some time, a member of our 
church, and walking by our Saviour's grace, hand 
in hand with her in the narrow way which leads to 
life and bliss, rendered the days of their union a 
truly blessed period. 

6. Four years since, she was frequently ailing, 
and her husband, with us, feared greatly that we 
should have to part with her ; we therefore moved 
her from her farm on Mount Joy to this place, 
where she abode during the winter months. By 
the blessing of our Lord upon the simple means 
used toward her recovery, she was enabled, in the 
following spring, to return home ; and thinking her- 
self perfectly restored, she undertook, as before, 
the management of her extensive domestic con- 
cerns. 



96 MARGARET ANN CRUTCHFIELD. 

7. However, from too great exertion and fre- 
quent colds, her consumptive cough returned, and 
increased to such a degree, that she was under the 
painful necessity of relinquishing her wonted ac- 
tivity, and betaking herself to rest. Now, her chief 
and most agreeable employ, was reading in the 
New Testament, and the hymn book of the Breth- 
ren's church. 

8. Last spring we again took her to Spring 
Place, to her great joy. As riding on horseback 
apparently proved of benefit to her, she made re- 
pealed visits to her friends and relatives at Sogh- 
ge-lo-gy, and elsewhere ; testifying of the Saviour's 
love to all poor sinners ; of his all-sufficient atone- 
ment ; and of the great happiness we enjoy, even 
here on earth, in his blessed communion. 

9. When last with them, she addressed her In- 
dian sisters thus : " My dear sisters, this is perhaps 
the last time that I shall visit you. I beseech you 
most earnestly, consider our poor people, who as 
yet sit in darkness, and know not our dearest Sa- 
viour. speak to them of his love, his sufferings, 
and death on the cross ! be active in his cause — 
he deserves it of you ! If it were his holy will, I 
would gladly stay longer here, only for the purpose 
of speaking more for him, and of Bhowing more the 
way to him," Sec. 

10. These words she spoke amid a flood of 
tears; and all the sisters wept, promising by the 
Saviour's grace i<> follow her maternal injunctions. 



MARGARET ANN CRUTCHFIELD. 97 

She arrived here in great weakness of body on the 
2d of September, 1820. She was now no longer 
able to edify herself by reading, therefore she was 
very thankful when we read or sung for her. The 
frequent visits she received from her numerous 
friends and relations, were improved to the best 
purposes on her part. 

11. The Saviour and his love unto death, even 
the death of the cross, were, to the last, her chief 
delight, and the topics of her conversation. Having 
been honored to be his messenger of peace to many 
of her people, this honor humbled her the more ; 
and she ofttimes was at a loss how to express her 
sense of the high obligations she lay under to her 
Saviour, for favoring the vilest wretch, as she 
deemed herself to be, thus highly, only lamenting, 
that she was not able to do much more for her 
gracious Lord. 

12. Since the 7th of September, she kept her 
room. On the 16th of October, in the presence of 
a number of friends, whom she solemnly enjoined 
to give themselves to our Redeemer, she received 
the last benediction, after a fervent prayer and 
thanks to him, for what lie had proved to his hand- 
maid, the first fruits of the Cherokee nation, during 
the ten years of her Christian life. The feeling of 
the divine presence on this occasion is beyond de- 
scription. 

13. On the 18th, toward night, she was in great 
bodily pain. We sung by her bed as usual, and 

9 



98 MARGARET ANN CRUTCHFIELD. 

implored our God to shorten the sufferings of this 
dear-bought soul ; during which time, with a loud 
voice, she incessantly besought his coming soon. 
" Come, come, my dearest Saviour ! hasten, O, 
hasten, and take me home ! I long, I long to be 
with thee ! Thou canst not come too soon." 

14. This paroxysm of bodily suffering lasted 
about half an hour, after which she fell, as it were, 
into a sweet slumber ; and during our singing some 
appropriate verses, her longing soul almost imper- 
ceptibly left the emaciated body, and went into 
the arms of her dearest Saviour. Much, very 
much might be said of her truly edifying Christian 
life, led in the faith of the crucified Son of God. 

15. Yet, in obedience to her repeated and most 
solemn injunctions to her husband, we must stop 
here, fearing that the little we have said, might not 
be agreeable to the wishes of our departed sister — 
for these were her words : " I know assuredly that 
my name is written in heaven. When I am gone, 
I pray you say nothing of me, but let my name on 
earth perish with my body." 



AN AGED PEQUOT. 



99 



THE PEQ.UOT OF A HUNDRED YEARS. 

AN AUTHENTIC NARRATIVE. 

" I AiM an aged hemlock : the winds of a hun- 
dred winters have whistled through my branches : 
I am dead at the top," said a venerable Mohawk 
chieftain. The ancient Pequot Indian woman, 
whose brief history is here given, expressed her- 
self in language alike figurative and natural to the 
Indian race : " I am a withered shrub : I have 
stood a hundred years : all my leaves are fallen; 
but water from the river of God still keeps my 
root alive." Here was a bright allusion, (wanting 
in the speech of the Mohawk,) which implied con- 
fidence in God. 

2. This individual, long known in her neighbor- 
hood as the Good Old Ruth, died February 5th, 
1833. The Pcquots, her native tribe, were dis- 
tinguished for cruelty, and hatred of the Christian 
religion ; and she herself, in early life, possessed 
the same characteristics. Her memory reached 
back to the period when the eastern part of Con- 
necticut was full of Mohegans and Pequots, and 
the Narragansetts were numerous in Rhode Isl- 
and. 

3. Among these tribes, more than half of her 
life was passed. She well remembered the en-. 



100 THE PEQUOT OP 

listment of the Indians in the army that took 
Louisburg from the French in 1745, and to her 
last days would describe their march in glowing 
language — the women and children following them 
for some miles, wailing and lamenting according 
to their native custom. In her youth, she re- 
sided a while among the Narragansetts, and mar- 
ried one of that tribe, named Pomham, with whom 
she removed to the Mohenan settlements in the 
vicinity of New London, Connecticut. 

4. They lived together about a dozen years, in 
a low irregular manner, often wandering into the 
neighboring towns, and obtaining a subsistence by 
labor or begging, but by no means scrupulous in 
their principles, or upright in their conduct. Pom- 
ham at length died ; the sons went to sea, the 
daughters to service ; and, at fifty years of age, 
Ruth was left a lonely widow, ignorant of Christ, 
and with no cheering hope cither for this world or 
the next. 

5. About this period, she became a constant 
attendant upon an aged lady, who was very infirm, 
but intelligent and pious. This lady often con- 
versed with her on the subject of religion, and two 
young children connected with the family took 
great pains to teach her to read and understand the 
XVw Testament. Its truths, now, for the first 
time, brought home to her understanding, made a 
deep impression on her soul. She soon began to 
confess her sins to God, and to cry to him for 



A HUNDRED YEARS. 101 

mercy. The knowledge that she imbibed from 
the lips of these children, seemed to her, as she 
afterward said, " sweeter than meat or sleep." 

6. Her situation was one of great confinement, but 
whenever permission was given her to go out for 
refreshment or exercise, instead of availing herself 
of it, she would spend the time with these chil- 
dren, sitting down on a low stool by their side, 
while they instructed her from the Bible or other 
good books — preferring this privilege to the en- 
joyment of the fresh air, or rambling in the green 
fields. Thus was she gently led, like a little 
child, by the instrumentality of little children, to 
the feet of the Saviour; and after having, for some 
lime, given decided evidence of piety, she was 
received into the communion of the Baptist 
church, about the year 1790. 

7. During the last thirty years of her life, she 
resided with her youngest daughter in a comfort- 
able tenement, where the charitable and the pious 
often went to see her, and took care that in her 
old atre she should not be without some of the 
comforts of life. Those who knew her origin and 
her early history, were surprised at the depth of 
her Christian experience ; and even strangers were 
often affected to tears, to find so heavenly a relish 
of divine things in one so poor, so ignorant, and 
so aged. 

8. Her senses were very little impaired at 
ninety vears of acre, but she had never been able 



102 THE PEQfOT OF 

to read very fluently ; and a visit from a Christian, 
or even from a child, who would read to her in 
one of her two precious books, her Bible and 
psalm book, was a blessing for which she used 
most devoutly to thank God. For every little 
article of comfort also, that was presented to her, 
she would first give thanks to God, and then ex- 
press her gratitude to her earthly benefactor. 

9. The smallest of these gifts would instantly 
carry her mind away to its Author, and lead her to 
dwell upon his goodness, sometimes with calm 
delight, and sometimes with deep emotion. " God 
is good," she would say, " O, how good ! The air 
that comes in at my window, the singing of birds, 
and all the sounds I hear, tell me that he is good 
This fruit that I hold in my hand speaks of his 
goodness — I see it every where — I learn more of 
it every day. Yes, he is good, and he is my 
Heavenly Father — that is my exceeding joy." 

10. She often spoke of the sweet views she 
had of God, and Christ, and heaven, during the 
silence of the night, always preferring to sleep 
alone, that the communion of her soul with God 
might be undisturbed. " It is sweet," said she, 
" to be alone in the night season with my Saviour." 

11. A visiter once wished to ascertain whether 
her love to the Saviour was truly spiritual, or 
merely like what we feel for a dear earthly friend. 
"Ruth," said she, " d.o ybu really love the Saviour 
more — " She could proceed no further, before the 



A HUNDRED YEARS. 103 

aged woman raised her shrivelled hand from the 
bed, and exclaimed, with great animation, " Better 
than all the world besides — better than friend or 
kindred. He is all my hope and all my joy." 

12. She manifested such confidence in God, 
and so happy an assurance of heaven, that faith 
seemed at times lost in vision. Life had no dis- 
tressing doubts or cares — neither had death any 
terrors. " I am in the hands of my Father," she 
would say : " God will take care of me all the 
days of my appointed time — I will wait. But I 
am not afraid of death. Jesus has been through 
the valley, and he will go with me. I will lean 
upon his rod and his staff." 

13. All who came near her shared in her 
prayers and exhortations ; and after she had lost 
her eyesight, even the sound of footsteps passing 
by, would make her heart beat quick with desire 
for the salvation of the wayfaring man and the 
stranger. To some teachers who had been instru- 
mental in establishing a Sabbath school in the 
neighborhood, she said, " I thank my God for what 
you have done. May he bless you for it. I can- 
not see it, but I can hear the little feet, as they 
patter along on the Sabbath morning, and I rejoice 
that they are going where they will be taught to 
love the Lord Jesus Christ." 

14. Once, on a cold day in winter, the almon- 
ers of a charitable society carried her a donation 
very opportunely. As they opened their stores, 



J04 THE PEQUOT OF 

her daughter remarked, " Mother will surely think 
this comes in answer to prayer, for when I told 
her this morning that we had nothing left, she bade 
me trust in God and take courage, saying, ' I have 
been young, and now I am old, but never saw I 
the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging 
bread.'" Her mother from her bed overheard this 
last sentence, and interrupting her, exclaimed, " O, 
he has always fed me, and he always will ; none 
ever trusted in him and was forsaken." 

IS. At another time, thev arrived on their char- 
itable errand jus! as Ruth was about to take her 
dinner. As she was blind, they entered unob- 
served. Her food consisted of a kind of soup, 
made by boil inn; bones in corn water, and it stood 
before her in a rusty tin basin. After tasting it, 
she folded her hands and asked, to borrow the lan- 
guage of one of the visiters, " a most heavenly 
blessing." Her words were slow, but she ex. 
pressed herself with irreat propriety and fervency. 
The idea she conveyed was, that as God had fed 
the Israelites in the wilderness with manna from 
heaven, so she in her poverty had been sustained 
by the same kind hand ; and she prayed that she 
might always have a thankful heart, ami as good 
and as sweet food as that which was then before 
her. 

It'.. In a message to an absent minister, whose 
prayers and conversation had yielded her great de- 
light and comfort, she said, « Tell that dear man 



A HUNDRED TEARS. 105 

•what happiness I have. Last night I had such 
views of heaven that I thought I heard the music 
of the angelic host, and saw the Saviour face to 
face. I could not believe but I was there, till I 
called to my child, and she answered me. 0, it 
was a foretaste of heavenly bliss ! Tell him that 
this is my continual frame of mind." 

17. In October, 1832, Ruth entered her hun- 
dredth year. She was exceedingly shrivelled, and 
had been blind about five years, but she was able 
to sit up a great part of each day, and to walk 
with her staff from the bed to the fire. It seemed 
probable that she might live much longer, but an 
accidental wound in her hand, made by a favorite 
dog, was followed by mortification and sudden 
death. The last distinct words she uttered were, 
" Come, my Saviour, come !" Happy, happy old 
woman ! Glorious the grace of that gospel thus 
manifested in her — triumphant in poverty, infir- 
mity, and death ! Thine, blessed Saviour ! be 
all the glory ! 



106 JOHN WILLIAMS. 



JOHN WILLIAMS, 



WHO WAS REMARKABLY AFFLICTED. 

By Robert Eastburrjj of New Brunswick, N. J . 

John Williams, who lived and died between 
New Brunswick and Trenton, in New Jersey, 
served me as an apprentice, about four years. He 
was weakly, and subject to indisposition. He 
was a poor colored boy. Naturally intelligent, he 
learned to read. 

2. Being disposed to use spirituous liquors to 
excess, and profane language to a dreadful degree, 
his conduct was a trial to me ; yet, at times, he 
appeared to have serious reflections about himself 
and the fruits of his ways : and by the medium of 
instrumental assistance, attended by Divine power 
and mercy, his conscience became deeply convict- 
ed of the sinfulness of his condition. 

3. A state of awful despair ensued, that con- 
tinued, as nigh as I can recollect, for some months. 
Abiding therein, the light of Truth so arose toward 
the coiiclusion of it, that the dread of wrath and 
punishment were removed, and a sense of pardon 
experienced, in which joy, and love to God and 
man, were shed abroad in his heart ; so that now 
he rejoiced in the Saviour, and gave glory to God, 



JOHN WILLIAMS. 10? 

in the highest, having peace in his soul and good 
will to men. 

4. Twenty years he was afflicted with rheuma- 
tism. And for about twelve years previous to his 
decease, he was wholly incapable of helping him - 
self. His jaws, body, and limbs, became fixed 
immoveably for some years before his departure, 
so that his jaws were locked, his head was bent 
back as in tetanus, and he could not bear any 
thing under it to support it, but lay with the pillow 
under his shoulders. 

5. His arm lay as if riveted across his body. 
One half of his head appeared as if dead : so that 
he had but one eye through which he could see, 
and one ear with which he could hear. All the 
rest of his body appeared to possess but little 
vitality, except his tongue. ^Nevertheless, he pos- 
sessed his intellects to admiration ; and it was be- 
lieved, that his soul and spirit were daily and prin- 
cipally exercised in devotion, prayer, and thanks- 
giving, to the hour of his departure from time to 
eternity. 

6. Amid the extreme sufferings, poverty, and 
helplessness, under which he was so long held in 
durance, he often expressed much cause for hum- 
ble thankfulness to the divine Being, for the great 
and multiplied mercies conferred upon him ; and 
more particularly for affording him time to repent, 
and abandon his sinful thoughts, words, and in- 
clinations. 



108 JOHN WILLIAMS. 

7. The happiness and gratitude of his son!, 
during his uncommon and protracted affliction of 
body, deserve very particular attention ; because 
they prove that peace and felicity do not consist in 
the things of this life, nor in health, nor in freedom 
from pain, but in unison with God, and participa- 
tion in his divine nature and character — the human 
will being subjected to the will of God, the love 
of sell being turned to the love of God and his 
creatures, and our affections to things of this life 
being transferred to things of eternity. 

8. He was heard, a short time before his death, 
to express his willingness to live or die, as it might 
please the Lord to order it ; " but," said he, " I do 
not desire to be restored to health, lest I should 
become forgetful of my best and greatest good. 
I am thankful that the Lord has thus afflicted me ; 
I esteem it a great mercy" Words of this im- 
port lie frequently uttered. 

9. I visited him sundry times, as opportunity 
offered ; and to the best of my recollection his 
mind appeared happily exercised on things of God. 
In particular, at one time, when I had agreed to 
stay all night with him, he was praising God when 
I came to the door. Having spent the evening in 
agreeable conversation, and retired to rest, I heard 
him, when I awoke at different times in the night, 
in prayer and thanksgiving to God. 

10. About the time his jaws were locked up, 
two of his upper teeth came out verv providen- 



John WILLIAMS. 109 

tially, and through this aperture, he was enabled 
to receive his sustenance from the spout of a tea- 
pot. 

11. By his request, he was accustomed to have 
a book placed before him, in such a manner as to 
read with his one eye ; and he would learn its con- 
tents to admiration— ^-repeating and singing them 
over in a spirit of solemnity and gratitude. 

12. Some little time before his departure, he 
desired his nurse to prepare to follow him ; for he 
expected soon to leave her. In the evening, it 
seemed doubtful whether he would live till the 
morning ; and in the morning it appeared doubtful 
whether he would live till the evening. 

13. His great support of life had been the 
elixir paregoric, which being exhausted, and the 
messenger who went for more, having unusually 
protracted his return, his stomach became dis- 
ordered, vomiting ensued, and he died on the fifth 
of third month, 1813. 

10 



110 ZILPAH MOXTJOV. 



ZILPAH MONTJOY. 

In the year 1821, died, in the city of New York, 
an aged woman of color, named Zilpah Montjoy, 
whose pious circumspect life rendered her an ob- 
ject of peculiar interest to many of her acquaint- 
ances ; to some of these, whose friendly notice 
she had experienced, she more than once related 
the following circumstance : — 

2. Being a slave, inured to hard labor, she was 
brought up in so extreme ignorance, as to have no 
idea that she was an accountable being — that there 
was a future state — not even that deatli was uni- 
versal, until the sixteenth year of her age, when a 
girl of her own color dying in the neighborhood, 
she was permitted to attend the funeral. 

3. The minister's text was, " Man that is born 
of a woman is of few days and full of trouble : he 
comclh forth like a flower and is rut down : he 
fleeth also as a shadow and continueth not!" by 
which and subsequent remarks, she understood 
that all were to die ; that there was a state of ex- 
istence after death, a preparation for which was 
necessary while here. 

4. She was much affected, and returned home 
in great agitation. Revolving these things in her 
mind for several days, she at length asked her 
mistress whether she had understood right, that all 



7.1LPAII MONTJOY. Ill 

must die. The reply was, " Go to your work." 
She continued thus exercised for a considerable 
time, earnestly desiring to know what she had to 
do, but had no one to give her instruction. 

5. In this tried state, the Lord was pleased to 
reveal himself, and impress on her untaught mind 
a belief in an omnipotent and omniscient Being, 
and that his law was written on the heart. Thus 
gradually becoming calm and settled, her confi- 
dence was made strong in him, who, hiding his 
counsels from the wise and prudent in their own 
eyes, " hath revealed them unto babes." And it is 
believed she was from that time guarded and care- 
ful in her conduct. 

6. She married, and had two daughters, one of' 
whom was taken, at an early age, and placed at so 
great a distance from her that she never saw her 
after. The other died when about grown : and 
being also bereaved of her husband, she was very 
lonely. But under these trials she appears to have 
been sustained, as was David when he could say, 
" Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." 

7. She was a member of the Methodist society, 
and a diligent attender of their meetings as long as 
her strength permitted. When she was (as near 
as can be ascertained) about sixty-eight years old, 
the " Clarkson Association for teaching colored 
women to read and write," was established. 

8. And when she received the information, she 
pffered herself as a scholar, but the teachers en- 



JI2 ZILPAH MONTJOV. 

deavorcd to dissuade her, telling her she was too 
old to begin, as she did not know a letter, and her 
sight was so impaired as to require two pairs of 
spectacles ; she however urged admittance, stating 
that her only motive was a desire to be able to 
read the Bible, and she believed "the Lord would 
help- her " adding, "We are never too old to do 
good." 

9. And being admitted, she was very diligent in 
her attendance, and by great perseverance became 
able to read a little in the New Testament ; and 
one with large print being given her, she prized it 
very highly, and would frequently open it and 
read one of the chapters contained in Christ's 
sermon on the mount, calling it — "the blessed 
chapter." 

10. But notwithstanding her great desire to 
learn, she did not allow her studies to interfere 
with her religious engagements ; and the time for 
meeting with her class being fixetl on one of the 
afternoons that the school was tattght, it was incon- 
venient to her; but as the school commenced at 
three o'clock, and the meeting at four, the hour be 
tween she generally spent at the school, staying as 
long as it would do, and then going as quickly as she 
could, to be punctual to the time. Sometimes she 
lias been seen running, when she heard the clock 
strike and found herself a little too late. 

11. She was industrious and frugal, but being 
liberated late in life, she barely procured a subsist- 



Z1LPAH MONTJOY. 113 

ence ; and for the last two or three years, being 
nearly past labor, she was dependent on the be- 
nevolence of others : but at no time, however desti- 
tute and tried, did she lose her confidence in the 
power of Him " who providcth for the raven his 
food ;" often saying at such seasons, " The Lord 
has been my helper, and I trust in him." And 
when any favor was conferred on her, she feelingly 
expressed her gratitude, yet mostly with reference 
to the Great Supreme, for giving her friends so 
kind. 

12. At a certain time, a friend, being unusually 
thoughtful about her, went to see how she was sit- 
uated, taking with her a loaf of bread. She found 
her unable to go out, and without provision ; and 
querying with her, " Zilpah, art thou here alone ?" 
she replied, " No, I am never alone ; my Master is 
with me. When I awake in the night season, he 
talks with me. He has promised to take care of 
me, and he has done it ; he has now sent me that 
loaf of bread." At another time, she said to a per- 
son who visited her, " How good the Lord is ; I 
have always something to cat, for if I take my last 
morsel, some one comes and brings me more 
before I want again." 

13. Her understanding failed, so that for sev- 
eral weeks before her death she knew very little ; 
but her conversation was innocent, sometimes say- 
ing, " If it is the Lord's will to take me, I am will- 
ing to go, but I must wait his time." And he was 

10* 



114 BELINDA LUCAS. 

pleased to release her, after a short confinemer* 
without any apparent disease but the decline of na 
ture, about the seventy-ninth year of her age. Her 
remains were decently deposited in the African 
place of interment, in the city of New York. 



BELINDA LUCAS, 

A woman of color, living in Christie-street, New 
York, is now, 1825, about one hundred years old. 
She retains her faculties remarkably well, and she 
recently gave the following account of herself. 
" When I was a small child in Africa, being one 
day at play in the woods, some people came along; 
one of whom catched me, and throwing me over 
his shoulder, ran awnv wjih mc. After he had 
gone some distance, he put me down and whip- 
ped me to make me run. 

2. " When we came to the water, they put me 
into the ship and carried me to Antigua. Soon 
after, the captain of a vessel from New York, 
taking a liking to me, bought me, and brought me 
here. I was then so little, that T slept sometimes 
at my mistress's feet. I think there was only one 
house for worship in Ibe city then ; and I remem- 
ber very well that up Broadway there were only a 



BELINDA LUCAS. 115 

few small houses ; and where the college stands it 
was woods. 

3. " I was sold several times, married twice, and 
had one child that died young. I was baptized in 
St. Paul's church not long after it was built ; and 
when I was about forty years old, I bought my 
freedom for twenty pounds. Not long after I mar- 
ried my last husband, I paid for his freedom, and 
we went to Charleston. After living there about 
seven years, he died ; and knowing I had many 
friends and acquaintances in New York, I came 
back. 

4. " I brought a hundred dollars with me, which 
I put into the church stock. From that I have re- 
ceived seven dollars every year, and with it I buy 
my winter firewood. By working early and late, 
besides my day's work, I earned money, and got a 
life lease of this spot of ground, and built this 
house ; and in this room" (which is on the first 
floor) " I have lived many years. 

5. " The upper part I rent ; but sometimes the 
people have been poor, and could not pay me ; then 
I lost it : but these people pay me very well. I 
have been asked many times to sell it, but I think 
it is much better for me to stay quietly here than 

to be moving about : — and besides, I let Mr. 

have fifty dollars, and when he failed, I lost it ; and 
the bad folks have several times taken money out 
of my chest ; and I was afraid, if I did sell, I should 
lose that also, and then I should be very bad off. 



116 BELINDA LUCAS. 

6. " As I have no relation of my own, when I 
am gone, and don't want these things any more, 
they are to be divided among my husband's folks." 
A person present told her she should have a writ- 
ing drawn, to tell how they should be divided ; 
saying, " Perhaps they will quarrel about it." She 
said, " I have told them if they did, them that 
quarrelled must not have any thing." 

7. When asked if she could read, she answered, 
" Yes ; when I was young, I learned to spell a lit- 
tle, but 1 did not know how to put the words to- 
gether, till I went to the Clarkson school. There 
I learned to read ; and though 1 can't read all the 
hard words in the Bible, I can read Matthew and 
John very well." A representation of the crucifix- 
ion of Christ hanging over the chimney-piece, she 
pointed to it, and explained it very intelligibly, re- 
marking that, " to .Mary, who was kneeling near the 
cross, it was said, 'Woman, behold thy Son,' and 
to one of those standing by, ' Behold thy mother.'" 

8. This representation appeared to afford her 
much ink rest in contemplating it, though she look- 
ed only to the Lord for consolation, and several 
limes, while giving this account, testified of his 
goodness and mercy to her; saying, "It is the 
Lord's will that I should be so comfortably pro- 
vided for. When I was younger, and worked so 
Bteadily, the people used to say, ' Belinda, what do 
you work so hard for, ami lav up money ? you have 
no children to take it when you are gone.' 



BELINDA LUCAS. 117 

9. " I did not know then but the Lord knew 
that I was to live a great while, and he put it into 
my heart to do so, and now I have plenty, and 
trouble nobody for a living. I am unwell this 
morning, but by and by, when I feel better, I in- 
tend to clean up. I used to live very snug and 
comfortable ; I can't get anybody now to put up 
my things for me so well as I can do it for my- 
self." Her bed had curtains, and appeared to have 
comfortable covering on it. She had a looking- 
glass, an armchair, a carpet on her floor, and other 
necessary furniture. 

10. She further said, " When I was able, I went 
often to sec the sick, and the suffering poor, and 
do something for them, and I sometimes prayed by 
their bedside ;" and added, " I believe the Lord 
heard my prayers." Placing her hands in an atti- 
tude of supplication, and turning her eyes upward, 
" I often pray now, and I leave it to him, and he 
gives me what I pray for. If he thinks it best for 
me to live longer yet, I am willing to stay ; and if 
he thinks best to take me away, I am ready to go." 

11. On being asked how old she was, she re- 
plied, " When Peter Williams was going to Hayti, 
and he came to see me and bid me farewell, he 
said, ' Belinda, I have been calculating your age, 
as near as I can from circumstances, and I believe 
you are about a hundred years old.' I thought I 
was older, but I suppose he must be correct. 

12. "I used to work for the rich folks, and they 



118 BELINDA LLC AS. 

seemed to love me, and treated me very kindly. 

Mrs. T , and Mrs. H , and many others, 

have been to see me a great many times. Mr. Liv- 
ingston, the lawyer, who died at Washington, you 
remember — with his first wife's father, Mr. Kittle- 
tas, I lived, and of him I bought my freedom. And 
when I went to Mr. Livingston's, he would say, 
'Why, Belinda, yen have a long life of it here.' I 
Avould say, ' Yes, master, the Lord knows, but I 
don't, why I stay so long' — but, dear man, he is 
gone !" 

1 3. On being asked why she lived alone, she said, 
" If I have somebody with me, they will want other 
company, and that will make more noise than I 
like. I love to be still ; then I can think. * And 
when I am sick, the people up stairs are kind to 
me, and do what little I want done." 

14. When speaking of reading, she said, " I met 
with a bad accident lately; I dropped my specta- 
cles in the fire, and it spoiled them: when I can 

get into the Bowery, to Mr. 's store, I can get 

another pair ; but nobody can get them for me — 
they would not know how to suit my eyes — and 
then I always pay cash for what I get — I have 
found it the best way. In all my life long, there 
has never anybody had the scratch of a pen against 
me. I have been saving too : them plates there," 
(pointing to her closet,) " I brought them with me 
from Charleston before Washington's war." 

15. In this unpolished narrative, we see the 



GUSTAVUS VASSA. 119 

benefit of acquiring steady habits in early life — of 
honest persevering industry — and frugality in the 
use of what was so obtained. .From the one hun- 
dred dollars put into church stock, she has in fifty 
years received three hundred and fifty dollars ; and 
in such a way as to be particularly useful to her. 
Her pious care of the sick ; her quiet, decent, and 
comely way of living ; and her exertions in learning 
to read, even at the advanced age of eighty years, 
are also worthy of particular notice. 



GUSTAVUS VASSA. 

TAKEN FROM HIS NARRATIVE, WRITTEN ABOUT THE YEAR 

1787. 

" I offer here neither the history of a saint, a 
hero, nor a tyrant. I believe there are few events 
in my life, which have not happened to many ; but 
when I compare my lot with that of many of my 
countrymen, I acknowledge the mercies of Provi- 
dence in the occurrences lhat have taken place. 

2. " That part of Africa known by the name of 
Guinea, to which the trade for slaves is carried on, 
extends along the coast above 3400 miles, from 
Senegal to Angola, and includes a variety of king- 
doms. The most considerable of these is Benin, as 



120 GtSTAVUS VASSA. 

it respects its extent, wealth, and richness of soil. 
It is bounded on the sea 170 miles, and its inte- 
rior seems only terminated by the empire of Abys- 
sinia, near 1500 miles from its first boundaries. 

3. " In one of the most remote and fertile pro- 
vinces of this kingdom I was born, in the year 
1745. As our country is one where nature is prodi- 
gal of her favors, our wants, which are few, are 
easily supplied. All our industry is turned to the 
improvement of those blessings, and we are habit- 
uated to labor from our early years ; and by this 
means we have no beggars. 

4. "Our houses never exceed one story, and arc 
built of wood, thatched with reeds, and the floors 
are generally covered with mats. The dress of 
both sexes consists of a long piece of calico or 
muslin, wrapped loosely round the body : our beds 
are also covered with the same kind of cloth : this 
the women make when they are not engaged in 
labor with the men. Our tillage is in a large com- 
mon, and all the people resort thither in a body 
and unite in the labor. 

5. " The land, being uncommonly rich, pro- 
duces vegetables in abundance, and a variety of de- 
licious fruits ; also Indian corn, cotton, and tobacco. 
Our meat consists of cattle, goats, and poultry. 
The ceremony of washing before eating is strictly 
enjoined, and cleanliness is considered as a part of 
their religion. They believe there is one Creator 
of all things, and that he governs all events. 



GUSTAVUS VASSA. 121 

6. " My father, being a man of rank, had a nu- 
merous family : his children consisted of one 
daughter, and a number of sons ; of which I was 
the youngest. As I generally attended my mother, 
she took great pains in forming my mind, and train- 
ing me to exercise. In this way, I grew up to 
about the eleventh year of my age, when an end 
was put to my happiness in the following man- 
ner : — 

7. " One day, when all our people were gone to 
their work, and only my dear sister and. myself 
were left to watch the house, two men and a wo- 
man came, and seizing us both, stopped our mouths 
that we should not make a noise, and ran off with 
us into the woods, where they tied our hands, and 
took us some distance, to a small house, where we 
stayed that night. 

8. " The next morning, after keeping the woods 
some distance, we came to an opening, where we 
saw some people at work, and I began to cry for 
assistance, but this made them tie us faster, and 
again stop our mouths ; and they put me into a sack 
until we had got out of sight of these people. When 
they offered us food we could not eat. Often bath- 
ing each other in tears, our only respite was sleep ; 
but alas ! even the privilege of weeping together 
was soon denied us. While enclosed in each 
other's arms, we were torn asunder, and I was left 
in a state of distress not to be described. 

9. " After travelling a great distance, suffering 

11 



122 GUSTAVUS VASSA. 

many hardships, and being sold several times, one 
evening my dear sister was brought to the same 
house. We were both so overcome that we could 
not speak for some time, but clung to each other 
and wept. And when the people were told that we 
were brother and sister, they indulged us with being 
together; and one of the men at night lay between 
us, and allowed us to hold each other's hand across 
him. 

10. "This comfort, small as i! may appear to 
some, was not so to us : but it was of short dura- 
tion ; when morning came, we were again sepa- 
rated, and I never saw her more. I remembered the 
happiness of our childish sports, the indulgence of 
maternal affection ; and fear that her lot would be 
still harder than mine, fixed her image so indelibly 
on my mind, that neither prosperity nor adversity 
has ever erased it. 

11. "I once attempted to run away ; but when 
I had got into the woods, and night came on, I be- 
came alarmed with the idea of being devoured by 
wild beasts, and with trembling steps, and a sad 
heart, I returned to my master's house, and laid 
'down in his fireplace, where I was found in the 
morning. Being closely reprimanded by my mas- 
ter, he ordered me to be taken care of, and I was 
soon sold again. I then travelled through a very 
fertile country, wheie I saw cocoa nuts and sugar 
cane. 

12. " All the people I had hitherto seen, resem- 



GUSTAVITS VASSA. 123 

bled my own ; and having learned a little of seve- 
ral languages, I could understand them pretty well ; 
but now, after six or seven months had passed 
away, from the time I was kidnapped, I arrived at 
the sea coast, and I beheld that element which be- 
fore I had no idea of. It also made me acquainted 
with such cruelties as I can never reflect upon but 
with horror. The first object that met my sight 
was a slave ship riding at anchor, to ait 'mg for her 
cargo ! 

13. " When I was taken on board, being roughly 
handled and closely examined by these men, whose 
complexion and language differed so much from 
any I had seen or heard before, I apprehended I 
had got into a world of bad spirits, which so over- 
came me that I fainted and fell. When I came to, 
their horrible looks and red faces frightened me 
again exceedingly. But I had not time to think 
much about it, before I was, with many of my 
poor country people, put under deck in a loath- 
some and horrible place. In this situation, we 
wished for death, and sometimes refused to eat, 
and for this we were beaten. 

14. "After enduring more hardships than I can 
relate, we arrived at Barbadoes, in the West Indies. 
When taken on shore, we were put into a pen like 
so many beasts, and thence sold and separated — ■ 
husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers 
and sisters, without any distinction. Their cries 
excited some compassion in the hearts of those who 



124 GUSTAVU8 VASSA. 

were capable of feeling, but others seemed to feel 
no remorse, though the scene was so affecting. 

15. " I, with some others, was sent to America : 
when we arrived in Virginia, we were also sold and 
separated. Not long after, Captain Pascal, coming 
to my master's, purchased me, and sent me on 
board his ship, called the Industrious Bee. I had 
not yet learned much of the English language, 
so I could not understand their conversation ; and 
some of them made me believe I was going home 
to Africa. This pleased me very much, and the 
kind treatment I received made me happy ; but 
when we came in sight of England, I found they 
had deceived me. It was on board this ship I 
received the name of Gustavus Vassa. 

16. " Having often seen my master, and a lad 
named Richard Baker, who was very kind to me, 
reading in books, I had a desire to do so, that I 
might find out how all things had a beginning. For 
that purpose, I often took a book, talked to it, and 
then placed it to my car to hear what it would say ; 
but when I found it remained silent, I was much 
concerned. 

17. "The summer of 1757, I was taken by a 
press-gang, and carried on board a man of war. 
After passing about a year in this service, on the 
coast of France and in America, on my return to 
Englatul, I received much kindness, and was sent 
to school, where T learned to read and write. My 
master receiving the office of lieutenant on board 



GUSTAVUS VASSA. 125 

one of those ships, took me with him up the Medi- 
terranean. My desire for learning induced some of 
my shipmates to instruct me, so that I could read 
the Bible ; and one of them, a sober man, explained 
many passages to me. 

18. " As I had now served my master faithfully 
several years, and his kindness had given me hopes 
that he would grant my freedom, when we arrived 
in England, I ventured to tell him so ; but he was 
offended, for he had determined on sending me to 
the West Indies. Accordingly, at the close of the 
year 1762, finding a vessel bound thither, he took 
me on board, and gave me in charge of the captain. 

19. "I endeavored to expostulate with him, by 
telling him he had received my wages and all my 
prize money, but it was to no purpose. Taking my 
only coat from my back, he went off in his boat. I 
followed them with aching eyes, and a heart ready 
to burst with grief, until they were out of sight. 
The captain, whose name was Doran, treated me 
very kindly but we had a tempestuous voyage. 

20. " When we came in sight of Montserrat, 
remembering what I had seen on my first arrival 
from Africa, it chilled me to the heart, and brought 
nothing to my view but misery, stripes, and chains : 
and to complete my distress, two of the sailors rob- 
bed me of about eight guineas, which I had col- 
lected by doing little jobs on board the ships of 
war, and which I hid when my master took my 
coat. 

ir 



126 gustavis vassa. 

21. "Having unladed the ship, and laded her 
again for sea, the captain sent for me : when, with 
trembling steps and a faltering heart, I came to 
him. I found him sitting with Mr. Robert King, 
a Quaker, and a merchant : and after telling me 
the charge he had to get me a good master, he said 
lie had got me one of the best on the island. Mr. 
King also said he had bought me on account of my 
good character, (to maintain which I found to be 
of great importance,) and that his home was in 
Philadelphia, where he expected soon to go, and 
he did not intend to treat me hard. 

22. " He asked me what I could do. I answer- 
ed, I could shave, and dress hair pretty well ; and 
that I had learned to refine wines ; I could write, 
and understood arithmetic as far as the Rule of 
Three. The character Captain Doran had given of 
my master, I found to be correct. lie possessed 
an amiable disposition, and was very charitable 
and humane. 

23. " In passing about the island, I had an op- 
portunity of seeing the dreadful usage, and wretch- 
ed situation o( the poor slaves ; and it reconciled 
me to my condition, and made me thankful for be- 
ing placed with so kind a master. He was several 
times offered a great price for me, but lie would 
not sell me. Having obtained three pence, I began 
a little trade, and soon gained a dollar, then more ; 
with this I bought me a Bible. 



GUSTAVUS VASSA. 127 

24. "Going in a vessel of my master's to 
Georgia and Charleston, a small venture I took on 
my return answered a very good purpose. In 1765, 
my master prepared for going to Philadelphia. 
With his crediting me for some articles, and the 
little stock of my own, I laid in considerable, which 
elated me much ; and I told him I hoped I should 
soon obtain enough to purchase my freedom, which 
he promised me I should have when I could pay 
him- what, he gave for me. 

25. " Between Montserrat and several ports in 
America, we made many trips. One circumstance 
occurred when I was in Georgia, that was a seri- 
ous one to me. Being in a yard with some slaves 
one evening, their master coming home drunk, and 
seeing me, a stranger, lie, with a stout man to help 
him, beat me so that I could not go aboard the 
ship, which gave the captain much anxiety. When 
he found me, and saw the situation I was in, he 
wept ; but by his kind attention, and that of a skil- 
ful physician, I was in a few weeks able to go on 
board and attend to my business. 

26. " Thus, passing from one port to another, 
with my kind master's and captain's indulgence, 
and my own indefatigable industry and economy, I 
obtained the sum required for my liberty. So, one 
morning, while they were at breakfast, I ventured 
to remind my master of what he had promised, and 
to tell him I had got the money — at which he 



128 »€ status tassa. 

seemed surprised. The captain told him I had 
come honestly by it, and he must now fulfil his 
promise. 

27. " Upon which he told me to get a manumis- 
sion drawn, and he would sign it. At this intel- 
ligence my heart leaped for joy. When the whole 
was finished, and I was in reality free, I felt like 
another being — my joy was indescribable. My 
master and Captain Doran entreated me not to 
leave them, and gratitude induced me to stay, 
though I longed to see Captain Pascal, and let him 
know I was free. 

28. " I now hired as a sailor, and our next voy- 
age was to Savannah. When we were preparing 
to return, and were taking some cattle on board, 
one of them butted the captain in the breast, which 
affected him so that he was unable to do duty, and 
he died before we reached our port. This was a 
heavy stroke to me, for he had been my true friend. 
and I loved him as a father. 

29. "The winter following, I sailed again for 
Georgi.i, with a new captain, in the Nancy : but 
steering a more westerly course than usual, we 
soon got on the Bahama banks, where our vessel 
was wrecked, but no lives were lost. Getting on 
one of the islands, with some salt provision we had 
saved, we remained there many days, and suffered 
much for want of fresh water. 

30. "When we were almost famished with hun- 
ger and thirst, we were found, and carried to New 



gustavus vassa. 129 

Providence, where we. were kindly treated. Thence 
we were taken to Savannah, so to Martinico and 
Montserratj having been absent about six months, 
and experienced the delivering hand of Providence 
more than once, when all human means seemed 
hopeless. 

31. "After relating to Mr. King the loss of the 
Nancy, and the various hardships we had endured, 
I again told him my desire to go to England ; and 
although he wished me to remain in his service, he 
consented, and gave me the following certificate : — 
' The bearer hereof, Gustavus Vassa, was my slave 
upward of three years ; during which time he al- 
ways behaved himself well, and discharged his 
duty with honesty and assiduity. R. King.' 

32. " Obtaining this certificate, I soon parted 
with my kind master, and arrived in England. 
When I here received my wages, I had thirty-seven 
guineas. I soon found my old captain, Pascal, who 
was surprised to see me, and asked how I came 
back. I told him, ' In a ship.' To which he re- 
plied, ' I suppose you did not ivalk on the water? 

33. " I now set my mind on getting more learn- 
ing, and attended school diligently. My money not 
being sufficient, I hired myself to service a while ; 
but having a desire to go again to the Mediterranean, 
I engaged on board a ship, where the mate taught 
me navigation. While at Smyrna, I saw many 
caravans from Tndia. Among other articles, they 
brought great quantities of locusts, and a kind of 



130 GUSTAVUS VASSA. 

pulse resembling French beans, though larger; 
they are sweet and palatable. 

34. "In the spring of 1773, an expedition was 
fitted out to explore a northwest passage to India. 
Dr. Irving concluding to go, I accompanied him, 
and we went on board one of the vessels the 24th 
of May ; and about the middle of June, by the use 
of the doctor's apparatus for making salt water 
fresh, we distilled from twenty-six to forty gallons 
a day. On the 28th we reached Greenland, where 
I found the sun did not set. 

35. " We saw large fields of ice, and to one of 
them, about eighty yards thick, we made our ves- 
sel fast : but we soon became so surrounded with 
ice that we could not move, and were in danger of 
being crushed to pieces. In this perilous situation 
we remained eleven days, when the weather be- 
coming more mild, and the wind changing, the ice 
gave way, and in about thirty hours, with hard la- 
bor, we got into open water, to our creat joy, and 
arrived at Deptford, after an absence of four months, 
wherein we had experienced imminent dangers. 

36. " Rejoicing to be again in England, I enter- 
ed into service, and remained a considerable time ; 
during which, I began to reflect seriously on the 
many dangers I had escaped, particularly in my 
last voyage, and it made a serious impression on 
my mind ; and my reflections were often turned to 
1 he awfulness of eternity. 

37. "In this state,I took to my Bible, rejoicing 



GUSTAVUS VASSA. 131 

that I could read it for myself, and I received en- 
couragement. While my mind was thus seriously 
impressed, I went several voyages to Spain, and 
being often led to look over the occurrences of my 
past life, I saw there had been the hand of Provi- 
dence to guide and protect me, though I knew it 
not ; and when I considered my obligations to the 
Lord for his goodness, I wept. 

38. " On our return, the last voyage, we picked 
up eleven Portuguese. Their vessel had sunk, 
with two of the crew, and they were in a small 
open boat, without victuals, compass, water, or any 
thing else, and must soon have perished. As soon 
as they got on board our vessel, they fell on their 
knees and thanked God for their deliverance. Thus 
I saw verified what was written in the 107th 
Psalm. 

39. "From the year 177? to 1784, I remained 
more quiet ; but about the latter period I made a 
trip to New York, and one to Philadelphia. At the 
latter place, I was very much pleased to see the 
worthy Quakers easing the burdens of my oppressed 
countrymen. It also rejoiced my heart when one of 
these people took me to the free school, and I saw 
the children of my color instructed, and their minds 
cultivated, to tit them for usefulness. 

40. " Not long after my return, I found govern- 
ment was preparing to make a settlement of free 
people of color on the coast of Africa, and that 
vessels were engaged to carry such as wished to 



132 GUSTAVfS VASSA. 

go to Sierra Leone. I engaged as commissary, 
and we set sail with 426 persons. But the time 
of our arrival there, the rainy season having 
commenced, proved unfavorable, and some of us 
soon returned to England ; where, since that pe- 
riod, I have been doing what I could for the relief 
of my much-injured country people. 

41. "Having been early taught to look for the 
hand of God in minute circumstances, they have 
been of consequence to me ; and aiming at simple 
truth in relating the incidents of my life, I hope 
some of my readers will gather instruction from 
them." 

42. Gregorie, in his Inquiry into the Intellectual 
and Moral Faculties of the Negroes, states, that after 
thirty years of a wandering and stormy life, Vassa 
established himself in London, where he married, 
and published his memoirs, which have been seve- 
ral times reprinted — the last edition in 1794 ; and it 
is proved by the most respectable testimony that he 
was the author. In 17^9, he presented a petition 
to parliament, for the suppression of the slave trade. 

43. He also says, that a son of his, named San- 
cho, having received a good education, was an as- 
sistant librarian to Sir Joseph Banks, and secretary 
to tin 1 committee for vaccination. And he concludes 
with this remark : " If Vassa still lived, the bill 
which was lately passed, prohibiting the slave 
trade, would be consoling to his heart, and to his 
old age/' 



TOUSSA.INT l'oUVERTURE. 133 



TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE, 

FROM THE HISTORY OF I1AYTI. 

From the best information that can be obtained, 
he was born in a state of slavery, on the island of 
St. Domingo, (now Ilayti,) about the year 1745 
Though there is but little said of his early life, yet 
it appears that he was noted for his benevolence, 
and tender feeling toward the brute creation, and 
a stability of temper that scarcely any thing could 
discompose. 

2. At the age of twenty-five, he took upon him- 
self the cares of domestic life, and having several 
children, they were the objects of his tender, af- 
fectionate, and parental solicitude. By assiduous 
labor, he learned to read and write, and he also 
made some progress in arithmetic. This, with 
his regular and amiable deportment, gained him 
the love and esteem of -his master, who took him 
from the field and made him his coachman. 

3. This was a post of considerable dignity and 
profit. The increased leisure this situation afford- 
ed, was employed in cultivating his talents, and 
collecting those stores of information, which en- 
riched his mind, polished his manners, and pre- 
pared him for a more extensive and important 

12 



134 TOUSSAINT i/oUVERTURE. 

sphere of action. When the insurrection of the 
negroes took place in 1791, Toussaint was still a 
slave on the plantation where he was born; but 
he refrained from taking any part in the first rev- 
olutionary movements. 

4. Many of the planters made their escape from 
the island, and fled with their families to foreign 
countries ; but the master of Toussaint was one 
who, not having made an early escape, was on the 
point of falling into the hands of the infuriated 
blacks. But his humane and beneficent treatment 
of this worthy slave, was not forgotten ; and at the 
risk of his own life, he prepared for the emigration 
of his master and family to North America, 'and 
found means to embark a considerable quantity of 
produce for their support in exile. 

5. Nor did his care end here : after their settle- 
ment at Baltimore in Maryland, he availed himself 
of every opportunity to send them some additional 
proof of his friendship and gratitude. Not long 
after this, he was placed in a conspicuous station, 
where the excellences of his character unfolded 
themselves more and more, as opportunities offered 
for their development ; and the same amiable dis- 
positions which adorned his humble life, continued 
to distinguish him in his elevation. 

6. One who was opposed to him in politics, 
says, " Me has a line penetrating eve, and is ex- 
tremely sober by habit, and his activity in the 
prosecution of his enterprises is incessant, and 



TOUSSAINT l'ouvertuue. 135 

allows very little time for settled repose, or for his 
meals." If there was one trait in his character 
more conspicuous than the rest, says the historian, 
it was his unsullied integrity. That he never 
broke his word, was a proverbial expression, even 
among those who sought occasion against him. 
Though, for a considerable time, he possessed un- 
limited power, he has never been charged with its 
abuse. 

7. Four Frenchmen, who had been guilty of 
treachery, being taken, and remembering the ex- 
ample set by their general, every one expected to 
be put to a cruel death. Leaving them, however, 
in a state of suspense as to their fate, Toussaint 
ordered them to be brought into church the follow- 
ing Sunday, and while that part of the service was 
pronouncing which relates to mutual forgiveness, 
he went with them to the front of the altar, where, 
after endeavoring to impress their minds with the 
heinousness of their conduct, he ordered them to 
be discharged without further punishment. 

8. There having been considerable disturbance 
on the island, by the interference of the English 
and French governments, but having come to an 
amicable adjustment of affairs, it was deemed 
proper for the British general, Maitland, to make 
Toussaint a visit, previous to his embarkation. 
Though their business was not fully settled, yet, 
confiding in the integrity of Toussaint, the general 
went with only two or three of his attendants. 



136 T0US8AINT l'oUVERTDRK- 

Before he arrived, Toussaint received a letter from 
one of his partisans, advising him to retain the 
British general. 

9. On the general's arrival, Toussaint was not 
to be seen immediately, but at length he appeared 
with two letters in his hand. " There, general," 
said he, " before we talk together, read, these : 
one is a lelter just received from Roume, (the 
French commissioner,) and the other is my an- 
swer. I would not come to you until I had writ- 
ten my answer to him, that you may see how safe 
you are with me, and how incapable I am of base- 
ness." General Maitland, on reading the letters, 
found one to be a very artful attempt to persuade 
Toussaint to seize his guest, as an act of duty to 
the republic, and the other a noble and indignant 
refusal. 

10. "What!" said Toussaint, in his letter to 
the perfidious Frenchman, " have I not passed my 
word to the British general ? How then can you 
suppose that I will cover myself with dishonor 
by breaking it ? His reliance on my good faith 
leads him to put himself in my power, and I should, 
be for ever infamous, if I were to act as you ad- 
vice. I am faithfully devoted to the republic; but 
I will not serve it at the expense of my con- 
science and my honor." 

11. When these negotiations were settled, he 
devoted his undisturbed attention to the aits of 
peace. And one of his first objects was the reg- 



TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE. 137 

ular cultivation of the soil — upon which the pros- 
perity of every country materially depends. Sla- 
very being now done away on the island, the 
planters who returned, were obliged to employ 
their laborers on the footing of hired servants, and 
the negroes were required to labor for their own 
subsistence. 

12. Obliged to work, but in a moderate manner, 
and for suitable wages, and at liberty to choose 
their masters, the plantation negroes were generally 
contented, healthful, and happy ; and in due time, 
the island reached a state of refinement and ease, 
scarcely to be credited. A writer who visited the 
island, says, "The men in general are sensible and 
polite, and many of the women are very en- 

cnrrinc ." 
o**o 5 

13. As the islanders had thrown off the shackles 
of slavery, it appeared necessary, for the well- 
ordering of government, that a new constitution 
should be framed. Toussaint, assisted by some 
of the Europeans, acted a conspicuous part in this 
work, which, after being prepared, was submitted 
to a general assembly convened from every dis- 
trict, by whom it was approved and adopted, and 
proclamation thereof was made in due form on the 
first day of July, 1801. 

14. In the autumn of that year, every part of 
St. Domingo was in quiet submission to the negro 
chief, and rapidly improving in wealth and happi- 
ness, under a wise administration. The cessation 

12* 



138 TOUSSAINT L'oUVERTURE. 

of hostilities between Great Britain and France, 
gave tiie French an opportunity of turning their 
attention to another object, which was that of en- 
deavoring to bring again the island of !St. Domin- 
go under that government, for which purpose they 
made such preparations as they thought sufficient; 
but being disappointed in their calculations, they 
had recourse to artifice. 

15. Toussaint, being sensible of the value of 
education, and not finding means at home for ac- 
complishing his object, had sent his two elder sons 
to France for that purpose. These youths were 
taken from their studies by Buonaparte, and sent 
with their tutor to Hi. Domingo, with a hope that 
Toussaint's feelings would be wrought upon by 
seeing his sons ; and the tutor had special orders 
from Buonaparte not to leave them, unless Tons- 
saint complied with his wishes in submitting to 
the French government. 

10. On their arrival at Cape Francois, they 
were soon conducted to Ennery, Toussaint's 
country residence. "When they arrived, Toussaint 
was absent, but his faithful wife received her sons 
as an affectionate mother might be expected to 
welcome her children after an absence of several 
years. Improved both in stature and accomplish- 
ments, they now appeared in the vigor and love- 
liness of youth. 

17. The crafty Frenchman, accepting an invita- 
tion to stay until Toussaint should arrive, made 



TOTJSSAINT I?OUTERTURE. 139 

use of this interval to persuade his hostess, as he 
had done many others, that the French govern- 
ment had no design against their freedom, only 
that by submitting they might be again united. 
This tale was so artfully told, that the unsuspect- 
ing wife, having a desire for tranquillity and its 
attendant enjoyments, sent a messenger imme- 
diately for her husband, who was at such a dis- 
tance, that, although he. travelled with all possible 
speed, he did not reach home until after the mid- 
dle of the second night. 

18. The two sons ran to meet their father; and 
he, with emotions too big for utterance, clasped 
them silently in his arms. Few, who have any 
feelings even of humanity, could behold such a 
scene without being moved thereby. But this 
cold-blooded emissary beheld it with barbarous 
apathy. When the first burst of paternal feeling 
had a little subsided, Toussaint stretched out his 
arms to enclose him whom he regarded with re- 
spect, as the tutor of his children, and their con- 
ductor to the embraces of their parents. 

19. "The father and the two sons," says the 
tutor, " threw themselves into one another's arms. 
I saw them shed tears, and wishing to take advan- 
tage of a period which I conceived to be favorable, 
I stopped him at the moment when he stretched 
out his arms to me.'' Retiring from the embrace 
of Toussaint, he endeavored to persuade him to 
accede to the proposals of Buonaparte. 



140 Torss.uNT l'ouverture. 



20. Describing in glowing colors ihc advan- 



tage to be gained by joining the French govern- 
ment ; declaring that no design was entertained of 
infringing on the liberties of the blacks ; and de- 
siring him to reflect on the situation of his chil- 
dren, who, unless he would submit, were to be im- 
mediately taken back, never more, perhaps, to 
gladden the hearts of their parents ; he concluded 
his perfidious speech, by putting into Toussaint's 
hand a letter from the French general at the Cape, 
accompanied by one from Buonaparte. 

21. These letters were couched in all the arts 
of intrigue, combined with that of persuasive elo- 
quence. In the letter from Buonaparte was the 
following paragraph : " We have made known to 
your children and their preceptor, the sentiments 
by which we are animated — we send them back 
to you. What can you desire ? the freedom of the 
blacks? You know lhal in all the countries we 
have been in, we have given it to the people who 
had it not. 

"Till the people of St. Domingo, that, if, 
liberty be to them the firfet of wants, they cannot 
enjoy it but with the lille of French citizens." — 
" Rely without reserve on our esteem, and con- 
duet yourself as one of the principal citizens of 
the greatest nation In the world ought to conduct." 
Isaac, the elder son, next addressed his father, 
representing the great kindness his brother and 
himself had received from Buonaparte, and the 



TOUSSAINT iAnjVERTURE. 141 

liigh esteem lie had professed for Toussaint and 
his family. 

23. The younger son added something that he 
had been taught to the same effect ; and both, 
with artless eloquence, endeavored to win their 
father to a purpose, of the true nature of which 
they had no suspicion. To their persuasions, 
were also added the tears and entreaties of their 
distressed mother. 

24. Toussaint appeared to hesitate amid these 
tender solicitations. Coisnon, the tutor, observing 
these appearances with savage pleasure, got a little 
off his guard, and discovered his base design. 
Toussaint, gently disengaging himself from the 
embraces of his wife and children, took him into 
another apartment, and gave him this decision: 
11 Take back my children, since it must be so. I 
will be faithful to my brethren and my God." 

25. Finding all his endeavors fruitless, Coisnon 
proposed a negotiation with the French general at 
the Cape. Toussaint was unwilling to prolong the 
painful domestic scene by staying to write at En- 
nery, nor would he risk another sight of his chil- 
dren ; but within two hours after his arrival he left 
his home again : and writing next day to the gen- 
eral, he sent the letter by Granville, the tutor 
of his other sons, who overtook Coisnon and the 
two lads, on their way to the Cape. 

26. By this negotiation, Toussaint was not able 
to obtain his desired object ; which was the hide- 



M2 TOUSSAINT i/or/VERTURE. 

pendence of that republic. This was in the early 
part of 1802 ; and the French troops, after spend- 
ing several months in unsuccessful attempts to 
bring the negroes into subjection, becoming very 
sickly, the whole city was like an hospital, and 
great numbers fell victims to the pestilential dis- 
ease. 

27. The French, by their frequent proclama- 
tions, and their declarations to maintain liberty and 
equality on the island, at length gained many of 
the blacks, among whom were Christophe, and a 
brother of Toussaint's. Negotiations were again 
entered into with Toussaint, and an agreement 
made, that he, with the before-mentioned brother, 
and Christophe, should be honored with a digni 
fied retirement from public life; and by the first 
week in May, all things were fixed. 

28. A letter from the French general contained 
the following passage : — " With regard to yourself, 
you desire repose, and you deserve it. I leave 
you at liberty to retire to which of your estates 
you please." Toussaint retired to a small planta- 
tion, called by his own name, situated on the south- 
west pari of the island. 

29. There, in the bosom of his remaining fainilv, 
(for his two sons who had been under the care of 
Coisnon, were never heard of after their return to 
the Cape with their perfidious tutor,) he entered 
into the enjoyment of that repose of which he had 



TOUSSAINT l/oUVERTURE. l43 

long been deprived. But the French general no 
sooner perceived the confidence Toussaint had 
placed in him, than he committed one of the 
basest acts of treachery. 

30. About ten days after Toussaint retired to 
his plantation, (where it is probable he was engaged 
in laying plans for the comfortable enjoyment of 
the domestic circle in his declining age,) under 
cover of the night, and while himself and the faith- 
ful companion of all his cares, were, with their 
family, wrapped in silent sleep, unconscious of their 
danger, a band of soldiers surrounded his house. 
some of them entering his chamber, and command* 
cd him, with all his family, to go immediately on 
board a vessel then in ihc harbor. 

31. Resistance being useless, he quietly submit- 
ted to his men fate, but for his feeble ivife and in- 
nocent children, he asked the privilege of remain* 
ing at home : this request, however just, was not 
granted. And before their friends and neighbors 
had any knowledge of it, the family, including the 
daughter of a deceased brother, were on board the 
vessel and under sail ; and they were taken direct- 
ly to France. 

32. To justify this base act, the French general 
circulated a report, that Toussaint had engaged in 
a conspiracy ; but the time was so short, that there 
could have been no grounds even for suspicion of 
such a thing. On their passage to France, he waa 



144 TOUSSAINT i/oi'VERTr/HE. 

refused all intercourse with his family ; he was 
confined to his cabin, and the door was guarded 
by soldiers. 

33. When they arrived at Brest, no time was 
lost in hurrying him on shore — on the deck only, 
was he permitted to have an interview with his 
wife and children, whom he was to meet no more 
in this life. The separation of this faithful pair 
and their beloved offspring, waa such as might 
have been expected; and it excited, in those who- 
beheld it, compassion for their fate. 

34. Toussaint was conveyed in a close carriage 
to the castle of Joux, in Normandy, where lie was 
put into close confinement, with only one attend- 
ant, who was as closely confined as himself. 
Toussaint's family were detained at Brest for two- 
months, and then removed to Bayonne. From that 
time they disappeared from the land of the living, 
but by what means, it is unknown. 

35. At the approach of winter, Toussaint was 
taken to Besancon, and there confined in a cold, 
damp, and gloomy dungeon, like one of the worst 
criminals. It has been confidently asserted by 
respectable authority, that the floor of the dungeon 
was covered with water. 

36. Let the reader imagine the dreadful situa- 
tion of such a prison, to one who had been born, 
and who had lived near!) ihree-score years, enjoy- 
ing the necessaries, and in the latter part of the 
time, even the luxuries of life, in a West India 



BILLY AND JENNY. 145 

climate, and he must feel a tender compassion for 
the poor, afflicted, suffering Toussaint ! 

37. In this deplorable situation, without any al- 
leviation, he lingered through the winter, and died 
in ihe spring of the following year. His death 
was announced in the French papers of the 2?th 
of April, 1»03. 



BILLY AND JENNY. 

About the year 1738, a man and his wife, 
named Tom and Caty, who were in bondage to 
Thomas Bowne, on Long Island, had a little son 
whom they called Billy. This little boy, when 
old enough to work, was sold to a farmer in the 
neighborhood ; who, according to the custom -of 
those days, went with his servants into- the field, 
and allotted to each one his portion of labor. By 
this means, Billy became acquainted with the dif- 
ferent branches of husbandry, and was inured to 
industry. 

2. With this farmer, he was pretty comfortably 
cared for, and kept to his daily labor until the 
thirty-first year of his age. About the year 1744, 
the master of one of those ships employed in 
bringing the poor Africans from their native land, 
among others, brought away a little girl — too 

13 



146 BILLY AND JENNY. 

young, alas! to tell even by what means, or in 
what way she was taken. 

3. Neither was she capable of telling the sit- 
uation in which she left her bereaved parents ; 
who, if they were not taken themselves, must 
have had many anxieties and sorrowful moments, 
known only to those who are parents, and who 
may have been deprived of their children in a sim- 
ilar way. Her being maiked on the forehead and 
temples, indicated her parents' being persons of 
distinction. 

4. This little girl, after suffering all the hard- 
ships attendant on her situation, and a long confine- 
ment on shipboard, was landed in New York, and 
sold according to the custom of that time. She 
was bought by Samuel Underbill, and taken to 
Long Island to wait on his wife and children, and 
they called her Jenny. As she advanced in age, 
she became more and more useful in her master's 
family, and satisfied with her situation. 

5. Her mistress being a woman of an uncom- 
monly amiable disposition, having known the sub- 
jugation of her own will, oy the operation of that 
principle which brings into harmony all the dis- 
cordant passions, and one of that description also, 
that " looked well to the ways of her household, 
and ate not the bread of idleness," she was quali- 
fied to govern her family with mildness and dis- 
i rction, and to set them an example of economy, 
sobriety, cheerfulness, and industry. 



BILLY AND JENNY. 147 

6. Jenny, being placed under the tuition of such 
a mistress, in due time became qualified to fill the 
station allotted her with propriety, as an honest, 
sober, industrious, and useful servant. When she 
had arrived at about the twentieth year of her age, 
she was visited by the before-mentioned Billy, in 
the character of a suitor. After mature delibera- 
tion, and their affections becoming more strongly 
fixed, with the approbation of those concerned, the 
marriage ceremony was performed. 

7. Thus were they united, not only in the bonds 
of wedlock, but those of sincere affection, which 
abundantly manifested itself in their conduct to- 
ward and respect for each other, during a long and 
laborious life, and in their care of their numerous 
offspring, which consisted of nine sons and one 
daughter. 

8. Time passing on with them, they partook of 
such a share of happiness as their situation in life 
would permit, until the year 1769, when the mas- 
ter of Jenny, having purchased a farm in West- 
chester county, was preparing to remove his fam- 
ily thither. This circumstance became a very 
close trial to this affectionate pair, who by this 
time had several children. 

9. The thoughtfulness and anxiety felt by them 
on this occasion being reciprocated by their mas- 
ters, a proposition was made for an exchange. 
The wife of one of Billy's fellow-servants being 
in the family with Jenny, accommodations were 



148 BILLY AND JENNY. 

soon made, and Billy was admitied a resident in 
the familv with his beloved partner : when they 
all proceeded to their new settlement, where they 
lived in harmony and concord for many years, and 
until their master's children were all married and 
settled. 

10. During this period, Billy and Jenny, with all 
their children, were liberated by their master, and 
such of them as were old enough, were placed 
where they might be brought up to habits of in- 
dustry, and be prepared to provide for themselves 
a comfortable subsistence, but Billy and Jenny re- 
mained with him. 

11. Age and infirmity at length put a period to 
their kind master's life. And his family, being 
thus deprived of his care and exertions, were in- 
duced to leave their abode. The mistress, who 
had long exercised an affectionate care over her 
household, finding herself lonely, retired to live 
with her children. And with her youngest son, 
she remained to an advanced age, and was then 
gathered into lest, as a shock of corn in its 
season. 

12. Billy and Jenny, having a house provided 
for them, remained under the care of their former 
master's descendants, and with their own industry, 
and the generosity of their friends, they were com- 
fortably situated. But when Billy was so disabled 
by infirmity, that he could not work as a day 



B[LLY AND JENNY. 149 

laborer, he cultivated a little garden, and did some 
light jobs for his neighbors. 

13. Their children being out, while Jenny's 
health and strength remained, she went out to 
washing and house-cleaning. Billy generally wait- 
ed on her to the place of destination, and then, re- 
turning to his habitation, nursed his garden and 
poultry until toward evening, when he would go 
to accompany her home. More genuine polite- 
ness and unremitting attention, between a man 
and his wife, are rarely to be found, in city or 
country, than were manifested by this sable pair. 

14. Thus they lived several years; but Jenny 
at length became enfeebled by age, and her sight 
failed, so that she was no longer capable of labor- 
ing abroad, or using her spinning wheel at home, 
as heretofore, which made it necessary for them to 
be placed in a different situation. One winter, 
while they remained at housekeeping, there came 
a very severe snow storm, with high wind, so that 
passing from one place to another was rendered 
very difficult for several days. 

15. As soon as practicable, their friend who had 
the care of them, and supplied their wants, went 
to see how they fared ; when Jenny, meeting him 
at the door, and being asked how they were, &c., 
said, " O Master Richard, I am wonderful glad to 
see thee — if the storm had lasted much longer, I 
believe we should have froze to death ; our wood 

13* 



150 BILLY AND JESXV. 

was 'most gone, and Billy is one of the honestest 
negurs in the world ; for he had rather freeze to 
death than steal a rail from the fence." This cir- 
cumstance is recorded as one specimen of their 
honest simplicity. 

16. In the spring of 1815, they were removed 
to the habitation of one of their sons, where they 
were boarded ; and there they remained, until 
death, the destroyer of all earthly comforts, put a 
period to Jenny's hfe, after a few days' severe ill- 
ness, about the seventy-eighth year of her age. 

17. The same affectionate attachment that per- 
vaded her mind in youth and in health, remained 
unshaken to the last. Her sight, as before re- 
marked, being almost gone, when lying on her 
bed, she frequently inquired for Billy; but when 
she was told he was lying behind her, or sitting 
by her, she was satisfied. 

L8. Thus she closed a leng and laborious life, 
beloved and respected for her many good qual- 
ities, and her consistent conduct. Billy died at 
•sdale, Wes r county, New York, on the 

4th of 3d month, 1826, after a few days' illness, 
aged about eighty-seven years, and was decently 
interred by the side of Jenny, on the 6th of the 
same month. 



GEORGE HARDY. 151 



GEORGE HARDY. 

Of a truth, I perceive that God is no respecter of persons; but 
in every nation, he that fearetli him and worketh righteousness, is 
accepted with him. — Acts x. 34, 35. 

During the winter of 1832, the writer of the 
narrative of which this account is an abridgment, 
became acquainted with Hannah Hardy, an inter- 
esting old colored woman, and her son George. 
They were the suffering tenants of a miserable 
garret, lighted only by a few panes of glass, and 
ill-secured from the inclemencies of the weather. 

2. Hannah had been an industrious woman, who 
supported herself comfortably for many years, 
until her sight, which had long been declining, so 
nearly left her, as to disqualify her for all kinds of 
work. George, who was her youngest son, dis- 
closed in his earliest years great quickness of dis- 
cernment and readiness of apprehension. He 
could read the Bible when only four years old ; 
and he continued to be remarkable for docility, 
and for preferring his books and other profitable 
employments to the idle sports of children. 

3. When about eleven years old, he was placed 
from home, where he remained until four years 
since, when he became so much diseased with 
scrofula as to make it necessary for him to return 



152 GEORUE HARDY. 

to his mother. From that time, she became h<s 
constant and only nurse, and evinced, ihrough 
numberless privations and difficulties, the most 
unwearied attention and patient endurance. 

4. He assisted her in dressing his sores, which 
had attained such a height as to prevent his walk- 
ing without the assistance of crutches. When he 
was able to sit up and use his arms, he made rope 
mats ; by which, with casual help from his friends, 
he supported his mother and paid her rent. He 
always mended his own and her clothes, and al- 
lowed no time to pass away in idleness, which he 
was able to employ ; and so cheerful, so thankful, 
and so happy did this interesting couple appear, 
that it afforded a lesson of instruction to be with 
them. 

5. Hannah, who could only distinguish the glare 
of noon from the gloom of darkness, had lived so 
long in the forlorn tenement they then inhabit' 
and knew so well all the turnings of its steep and 
dangerous stairs, that she could not bear to hear 
the proposal from some of her friends to provide 
one more comfortable. Through the latter part of 
the winter, and the commencement of the spring, 
George's sufferings greatly increased ; he was 
wholly confined to his bed, and so emaciated with 
pain ami disease, that although he was seventeen 
years of age, his arms were not thicker than an 
infant's. 

6. He had been a diligent reader of the Holy 



GEORGE HARDY. 153 

Scriptures ; and though he told me they had been 
to him a sealed book, until he was brought to that 
bed of suffering, yet it was evident that his mind 
had long been enabled to appropriate to its own 
necessities many of their precious precepts. 
Though he labored under the combined effects of 
scrofula and dropsy, in their highest degrees of vir- 
ulence, yet I never heard him repine ; and often, 
while suffering extreme bodily anguish, he would 
speak of the relief it afforded the poor afflicted 
body, to have the mind composed and tranquil, and 
would say, " O, I feel like a poor worm in the fire, 
yet all I desire is, to be favored with patience to 
bear all my pain, and with a willing mind to wait 
the Master's will to take me away." 

7. For many days and nights together he was 
able to obtain but little sleep ; yet he showed no 
marks of restlessness or discontent. Once, call- 
ing me to his bedside, he said, " I am afraid I am 
not patient enough ; but I often feel very weary, 
and I fear I shall wear my poor mother out. I 
am more concerned for her than for myself — what 
should I do for a care-taker if she were gone ? 
She is very kind to me, and I have many kind 
friends. I am afraid I am not grateful enough for 
all my favors. To some, this garret would look 
like a dull place, but it never looks gloomy to me ; 
I have had more pleasure in it than I could have 
had in the nicest parlor." 

8. Having called one day after he had passed a 



154 GEORGE HARDY. 

sleepless and languishing night, I found him, with 
the Bible fixed before him, reading. He looked 
animated, and said, " I always loved to read the 
Bible, but I never understood it until very lately : 
now I understand it, and I find that religion and 
pleasure are in no wav inconsistent. I feel now 
that I shall never recover. I am willing to die, 
and I shall be happy when I am gone from earth 
— but the Lord is very merciful and can make me 
happy as long as he chooses that I should stay. I 
have trusted in him through pain and through 
want, and I believe he will never forsake me. 
My faith has sometimes been closely tried, but I 
never let go my confidence." 

9. His disease now rapidly increased, and with 
it his suffering. On the 23d of Fifth month, he 
conversed a long time with the doctor, and seemed 
more comfortable than usual ; but he passed a sleep- 
less and distressing night. The next day, he was 
able to take but little nourishment, owing to the 
great soreness of his mouth and throat, but he 
could converse intelligibly, and seemed anxious to 
do so. About two o'clock this day, I found him 
in great pain, but quite tranquil in mind. 

10. On my going to him, he said, "My suffer- 
ings are now nearly over ; I shall not live many 
days — not more than two. The Lord's time has 
nearly conic, and then he will take me where I 
shall never suffer any more. O, how marvellous 



GEORGE HARDY. 155 

his mercy is, to look down upon such a polluted 
sinner as I am ! 

' I the worst of sinners am, 
But Jesus caine to save me.' — 

Yes, he will save me — I know it. I have a hope — 
a pretty certain hope — 0. it is a very certain hope 
— it is a very sure hope." He then, in a low and 
indistinct voice, supplicated for many minutes ; 
after which he said, " I have been talking to my 
Saviour." 

11. Not expecting him to hear, I asked his 
mother if he had always been a serious boy ; but 
before she could reply, George said, "No! I was 
always bad, always wicked ; but since I was 
brought to this bed of sickness, I have sought for 
repentance, and I have found it : my sins were as 
scarlet, but now they are washed as white as 
snow. But it is all mercy, pure mercy ; we have 
no righteousness of our own to depend upon — no 
works, no merit of our own will avail us at such a 
time as this. If these were all we had to look to, 
we should never be saved. But this is what Jesus 
came into the world for — to save us poor sinners ; 
and salvation belongs to him alone." 

12. After this, he desired me to read to him in 
the Bible — said he would like to hear me read in 
the Psalms, where David deplored his sins. I did 
so, and he afterward composed himself and slept 



156 CORNELIUS. 

a few minutes ; but the pain soon awoke him, and 
he said, <; I hope my patience will hold out — I 
must not get impatient so near the end." 

13. On the 25th, his sufferings greatly increas- 
ed, and on the afternoon of the 26th, he was un- 
able longer to speak, but he appeared to be sen- 
sible of what was passing, and to know those about 
him. He several times embraced his mother very 
tenderly and wept. The impress which the pain 
and anguish of the preceding day had left upon 
his countenance, now yielded to a placid and heav- 
enly serenity; and his breath continued to shorten, 
until he ceased to breathe, about 12 o'clock on 
Firstday. 



CORNELIUS. 

Died, at St. Croix, in the West Indies, in 1801, 
a man of color named Cornelius. This man was 
in many respects distinguished among his country- 
men. About fifty years ago, he became concerned 
for the salvation of his soul, and attended the 
preaching and instruction of Frederick Martin, who 
treated him with particular kindness. In 1749, he 
was baptized, and ever after continued steadfast in 
his profession. 

2. He learned the business of a mason, and was 



CORNELIUS. 157 

appointed master mason to the royal buildings ; 
and he laid the foundation of each of the six chap- 
els belonging to the mission in those islands. He 
was able to write and speak several languages. 
He continued a slave until 1767 — having first pur- 
chased the freedom of his wife, and then labored 
hard to gain his own liberty, which he effected, 
and also that of six children. 

3. After his emancipation, he exerted himself 
greatly in the service of the Lord, among his own 
people particularly ; often spending whole days 
and nights visiting them on the different planta- 
tions. He possessed a peculiar talent for express- 
ing his ideas with clearness, which rendered his 
discourses pleasing and edifying, as well to white 
people as to those of his own color. To assist the 
feeble and indigent, was the delight of his heart; 
and they always found in him a sympathizing 
friend and faithful adviser. 

4. While thus zealously exerting himself in pro- 
moting the welfare of others, he did not neglect 
the concerns of his own family. He gave proof 
of his care for their temporal prosperity, by work- 
ing hard to purchase their freedom ; but he was 
more solicitous for the welfare of their souls, and 
his instructions were blessed. 

5. The infirmities of age increasing upon him, 

he was fearful there was a declension in his love 

to Jesus Christ. A few days before his end, he 

said to a friend who visited him, " I ou^ht to have 

14 



158 CORNELIUS. 

v. 

done more, and loved and served my Saviour bet- 
ter. Yet I firmly trust that he will receive me in 
mercy, for I come to him as a poor sinner, having 
nothing to plead but his grace and righteousness, 
through his blood." 

G. His children, and several of his grand-chil- 
dren being around his bed, he addressed them in a 
very solemn and impressive manner, to the follow- 
ing effect: — "I rejoice exceedingly, my dearly be- 
loved children, to see you once more together be- 
fore my departure ; for I believe my Saviour will 
soon come, and take your father to himself. You 
know, dear children, what my chief concern has 
been respecting you, as long as I was with you ; 
and how frequently I have exhorted you not to 
neglect the day of grace, but to surrender your- 
selves, soul and body, to your Redeemer, and to 
follow him faithfully 

7."Somelimes I have dealt strictly with you, in 
matters which I believed would bring harm to 
your souls, and grieve the Spirit of God, and I 
have exerted my parental authority to prevent mis- 
chief ; but it was all done out. of love to you. If 
I have sometimes been too severe, I beg you to 
forgive me — O ! forgive your poor dying father !" 
Here he was obliged to stop, most of the children 
wei ping aloud. 

s. At last, one of the daughters recovering her- 
self, said, " We, dear father, we alone have cause 
to ask forgivei r we have often made your 



CORNELIUS. 159 

life heavy, and have been disobedient children." 
The rest joined in (he same confession. The 
father" then continued : " Well, my dear children, 
if all of you are satisfied, then attend to my last 
wish and dying request, — 

9. " Love one another ! Do not suffer any 
quarrels and disputes to rise among you after my 
decease. No, my children," raising his voice, 
" love one another cordially. Let each strive to 
show proofs of love to his brother or sister ; and 
suffer not yourselves to be tempted by any thing 
to become proud ; for by that you may even miss 
your souls' salvation ; but pray for lowly minds 
and humble hearts. 

10. " If you follow this advice of your father, I 
shall see you again in eternal bliss, and be able to 
say, ' Here, Lord, is thy poor unworthy Cornelius, 
and the children thou hast given me.' I am sure 
our Saviour will not forsake you ; but I beseech 
you, do not forsake him" He fell gently asleep 
in Jesus, on the 29th of November, 1S01 ; being, 
according to his own account, eighty-four years of 
age. 



160 SIMEON WILHBLM. 



SIMEON WILHELM 

Was born on the west coast of Africa, about 
the year 1800. When nine years old, he was 
taken into the missionary school at Bashia, not far 
from the place of his birth. He was of a teachable, 
affectionate disposition, and a pleasing countenance, 
and very much gratified with the pains taken to in- 
struct, not only himself, but other African children, 
in piety and literature. 

2. Having heard, that where the missionaries 
came from, the people were all called Christians, 
he was desirous of going thither, that he might 
qualify himself to be useful to his countrymen. 
His father wishing him to go, Mr. Bickerstcth con- 
sented to bring him, if he would promise to do 
what he bid him. 

3. Simeon agreed to do everv thing he wished 
him to do, and he never broke his promise. They 
left Africa in July, 1816, and in a little more than 
a month, they reached England. On landing, many 
things attracted his notice : but nothing <>nve him 
so much pleasure as the attendance of religious 
meetings. 

4. lie was placed in the National School, in 
Shoe Lane, where he soon rose to the first class ; 
but being unwell, it was feared that the climate 
would not suit his constitution, and a proposition 



SIMEON WILHELM. 161 

was made for him to return to Africa, which agi- 
tated him very much, and he said to a person who 
was conversing with him on the subject, "You send 
me back to my country people ? I have not got 
good learning yet — I not teach them — I do them 
no good." 

5. The person replied, " You know, Simeon, 
that if you stay here, it is most likely you will die, 
and then you cannot be useful to them : but if you 
go back, you may learn what is good in Africa." 
He then raised himself up in bed, threw his arms 
around the neck of his friend, and said, " If I die, 
that be God's will — God do right : but if I live, and 
stay here, then I learn so that I teach my country 
people about Jesus Christ. I do not like to leave 
you." 

6. As he thus cheerfully resigned his life to 
God, it was thought best to indulge him with stay- 
ing. He gradually recovered from his sickness, 
and his gratitude, exemplary conduct, and meek 
and affectionate spirit, increased the love of those 

bout him. When the Scriptures were read and 
explained in the family, be was always attentive ; 
and in a short time he became so well acquainted 
with them, that he could readily find passages 
when adverted to. 

7. He had been taught a strict observance of the 

Sabbath, and a reverence for the Sacred Name ; 

and when he saw the one violated, and the other 

taken in an irreverent manner, it shocked his feel- 

14* 



162 SIMEON WILI1ELM. 

ings very much. And having a great abhorrence 
to lying, he never was known to deviate from the 
truth on any occasion. , 

8. Not many months after Simeon's arrival, 
another black boy came from Africa, named John 
Maxwell. He went to the same school, and they 
became very intimate ; but John, not having those 
serious impressions on his mind, often committed 
faults with which Simeon was grieved, and he 
manifested toward him a truly Christian disposi- 
tion, and advised and cautioned him in an impres- 
sive manner. 

9. Not long before his last sickness, he attended 
a meeting of the Clerkenwell Missionary Associa- 
tion, where much was said, and very feelingly, 
concerning his countrymen, which affected him 
deeply, and he was sensible that the Lord's good- 
ness extended to people of all colors, and of all 
climes. He was confined to his bed on the 16th of 
July, and the servants of the family waited on him 
with unwearied affection, lb 1 was attended by 
medical men, who strove to recover him to health 
and usefulness, but they could not. 

10. A person who watched over him with kind 
and affectionate attention during his illness, has 
furnished the following information : " He delight- 
ed in prayer, and in hearing the Bible read to him; 
and he reminded me of a tender lamb, which the 
faithful Shepherd bears in his arms, and nurses in 
his bosom. I asked him sometimes if he was com- 



SIMEON WILHELM. 163 

forted in his mind. ' Can you think on the 
Saviour ?' ' Yes.' ' Have you hope that your sins 
are forgiven you V ' yes — he has shed his blood 
for me.' 

11. " He was very grateful for every'thing that 
was done for him. He desired me one day to read 
some chapters in the Bible. I read the third and 
seventeenth chapters of John, and made some re- 
marks on them. After being silent about half an 
hour, he said, ' True repentance ! pardoning grace ! 
sanctihxation !' and frequently repeated them. I 
asked him if he wanted any thing. He answered, 
' No ! I must be silent and pray. I have very much 
to think respecting true repentance.'' He was 
very silent through the night, and much occupied 
in prayer. 

12. " At another time, after I had prayed with 
him, and desired that the Lord would give him pa- 
tience, and teach him by his Holy Spirit, that all 
afflictions which he sends to his children, work to- 
gether for their good, he said, ' God hear this pray- 
er,' and soon after, ' Amen ! God hear this prayer.' 
One evening he said, ' Pray, and read the Bible ; 
when I hear you read or pray, then I am comfort- 
ed. Does Mr. B ' (who was gone on a journey) 

' know I am sick V I answered, ' Yes, and he will 
pray for you.' Smiling, and clasping his hands, he 
said, ' Yes, he will ; and he will send a letter to 
Simeon — ah ! dear massa ! 

13. "In the fourth week, his illness had consid- 



164 SIMEON WILHEI.M. 

erably increased, and his mental faculties were af- 
fected, and he observed that his memory was short 
through sickness, but he loved his Bible, and was 
glad to hear it read during the sleepless hours of 
night. When he was spoken to, he would often 
say, ' I must be silent : I have much to think of, 
and to pray for; I must be really converted.' 

14. "The Holy Spirit seemed to be more and 
more preparing him for his heavenly mansion. 
After I had communicated something comfortable 
to him, he remarked, with a smiling countenance, 
'That is a joyful message' — meaning it was adapt- 
ed to his state — ' I am comfortable — J feel no pain 
— all is over — I pray only that I may love the 
Saviour more, who is so kind to me.' It was de- 
lightful to see him so happy. 

15. " He one day asked for some paper, and 
tried to write, but being too weak to hold the pen, 
he said, ' Mr. Decker, tell the boys at Bashia,' 
naming four of them, ' that Simeon is going to the 
Saviour in heaven, but he prays with his dying 
lips to the Lord, that they may turn with all their 
hearts to Jesus, and may be really converted by 
the power of the Holy Spirit. He begs them to 
give over all their hearts to him, that none of them, 
by remaining in unbelief and sin, may be lost ; but 
that all, as true believers, may meet him in heaven.' 

Hi. " When his friend said, ' Simeon, you are 
very happy, you will in a short time see the Sav- 
iour on whom you have believed, and be a par- 



SIMEON WILHELM. 165 

taker of his glory,' raising his voice, he said, ' O 
Saviour! come! O! Lord Jesus, take me home to 
thee ! I want to be with Jesus ! You go to Africa, 
and I to heaven, but we are united in Christ !' 

17. "He afterward said, ' O Lord ! look with 
compassion on a poor negro lying here ! O Lord ! 
hear the prayer of a dying negro, and convert 
my countrymen ! Send true preachers to them 
— take me to heaven, Lord Jesus.' All present 
were moved to tears. About two o'clock, on the 
morning of his death, he asked for some refresh- 
ments. When he had eaten and drunk, he said 
cheerfully, ' This is the last time — I want no more 
— I shall go to my Saviour in heaven.' 

18. "He prayed fervently for himself, for his 
relatives, for his countrymen, and for all his friends 
and benefactors. About nine, he said to his little 
companion, ' Maxwell, pray for Simeon, that the 
Lord give him patience.' And about ten, on the 
29th of August, he departed, after an illness of six 
weeks ; during which he manifested the advantage 
of a true and sincere belief in the doctrines of 
Christianity, and their support under his bodily 
suffering." 



166 LUCY CARDWELL. 



LUCY CARDWELL. 

WRITTEN BY ELIZABETH LADD. 

She was born in Charles City county, Virginia, 
of free parents, who gave her some school learn- 
ing. I shall pass over the incidents of her early 
years, and begin my account at the time of 
my acquaintance with her, which takes its date 
from her second marriage, at which time she re- 
moved to this neighborhood. 

2. Her unassuming manners gained her the 
esteem of her neighbors of all classes. Her con- 
duct, as a wife, struggling with many difficulties, 
was marked with prudence. And if we view her 
in the character of mother and of stepmother, we 
see none of the distinctions which too frequently 
disturb the harmony of mixed families of children. 

3. Of her it may not be said, as of some profes- 
sors formerly, who had a name to live when they 
were dead, Rev. iii. 1, for she belonged to no reli- 
gious society. Hut the solidity of her countenance, 
both in and out of meetings, joined to a grave de- 
portment, bore testimony that she was not unac- 
quainted with that spiritual worship, of which our 
blessed Lord spoke, when addressing himself to 
the woman of Samaria, John iv. 23. 

4. As before observed, she was not in member- 



LUCY CARDWELL. 167 

ship, yet in principle and practice, she was a 
Friend. She was for many years diligent in the 
attendance of our meetings. And what is worthy 
of remark, she not only kept to plainness of dress 
and address herself, but brought up her children in 
the constant use of both. 

5. In the early part of the illness which proved 
to be her last, she became impressed with a belief 
that she should not recover. She was not, how- 
ever, considered dangerously ill, until about ten 
days before her death ; about which time she sent 
for me. I found her very weak in body, but strong 
in mind. She looked at me very expressively, and 
said, " I want to talk with thee, but I fear' it is too 
late." 

6. After lying quiet a little while, she began 
with expressions of concern about her children. 
My husband being present, with a view to abate 
the anxiety of her feelings on their account, he told 
her they would be provided for. She said, " Then 
I believe I have not much more to do. I have look- 
ed all over," (meaning, 1 suppose, her past conduct,) 
" and I do not find that there is any thing in my 
way. Dost thou think my ways have been such as 
to entitle me to a place of rest ?" I informed her 
that I knew of nothing that I thought was in her 
way. She said, " I have tried to serve the Lord 
from my early years." 

7. Here a solemn pause ensued, as if she was 
in deep meditation. Watching her countenance, I 



168 LUCY CARDWELL. 

observed it was presently animated with such an 
evidence of joy as I had rarely witnessed — when 
she said, " Come, Lord ! — why should I wish to 
tarry ?" — repealing the words of our Saviour, 
" Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy 
laden, and I will give you rest,"Matt. xi. 28. 

8. At intervals, as her strength would admit, she 
addressed her husband, and the rest of the family 
individually, in a feeling and sensible manner, and 
with matter well suited to their several states. 
After which she was engaged in vocal supplication, 
with a melody of voice, and in language which we 
could scarcely have supposed was her own. 

9. Her pulse, about this lime, was hardly per- 
ceptible, and every appearance indicated a speedy 
dissolution. While these apprehensions prevailed, 
she said, " I see how the end will be. I have yet 
much to suffer ; and I desire I may be favored with 
patience." 

10. This view cf her situation, and of her solemn 
close, was remarkably realized; for she lived about 
eight days longer : much oi which time was passed 
in a stale of delirium. When she had lucid inter- 
vals, they were occupied chiefly in thanksgivin 
and praise. 

11. At one time, when I was not present, she 
desired a friend to tell me, if she should not see 
me any inure, that the work was done, and well 
done. I presently called to see her, when she told 
me the same ; adding, " We are all sisters in 



REBECCA JACKSON. 169 

Christ." She further said, " I wish thee to keep 
the faith, and maintain the fight, that thou mayst 
come where I am going." 

12. In closing this short account, which I have 
felt a willingness to preserve, for the encourage- 
ment more particularly of those of her own color, 
I am led to adopt the language of the Apostle Pe- 
ter : " Of a truth I perceive that God is no respect- 
er of persons : but in every nation, he that feareth 
him and worketh righteousness, is accepted with 
him," Acts x. 34 ; 35. 

13. She departed this life on the 25th of Third 
month, 1824, aged 39 years; and her body was 
decently interred in Friend's burying ground at 
Smithfield, Ohio, the day following her decease. 



REBECCA JACKSON. 

In the spring of 1817, Rebecca Jackson, a girl 
of color, about eight years old, in the service of 
I. H., of Mount Holly, New Jersey, one morning 
very early, reaching for something on the mantel- 
piece, set her clothes on fire, and she was dread- 
fully burned. Her shrieks immediately alarmed 
and collected all the family, and they found the 
skin, from the breast to the feet, entirely taken off. 

2. When her mistress entered the room, the 

15 



170 REBECCA JACKSON. 

shock was such that she could not conceal her 
emotions, which the child perceiving, said, " O 
mistress ! do not cry, I shall get well." After get- 
ting her to bed, a physician was called, and every 
suitable application made, though he thought her 
recovery impossible. Her sufferings were beyond 
description, or the power of shedding tears ; but 
she was invested with astonishing fortitude. 

3. One day she cried out, " O gracious Father ! 
have mercy on a poor child ! Mistress, J will try 
to bear it as well as I can." This was very evident 
to those who attended her, and the gratitude she 
manifested for kindness received was lively — fre- 
quently expressing a hope that the Lord would 
please to let her live to pay master and mistress, 
and indeed all who waited on her, for the trouble 
she gave them. 

4. At another time, conversing with her mis- 
tress, she said, " The Lord made the world, and 
every body in it, ami made us all to die; and thee 
must die, mistress, as well as I." Again, when 
her mistress entered her room, " O mistress ! every 
thing that I have done has come before me this 
day." On her inquiring what things they were, 
the child replied, that frequently, when her mistress 
had called her, she had waited, (meaning for her 
fellow-servants to go,) but that she never would 
again, but would run whenever she heard her. 

5. Her school-mates often visited her, and 
brought her little presents. She advised them to 



REBECCA JACKSON. 171 

be very careful about fire, and not get burned as 
she was, and would gratefully acknowledge how 
very kind every one was to her. She lay six weeks 
in great bodily suffering ; during which time, she 
was a remarkable instance and example of pa- 
tience. 

6. Her mistress often spoke to her on the sub 
ject of death, but she did not appear to resign her- 
self to it until the day before it occurred. She then 
told her she was willing and ready to go at any 
time, and spoke with great composure of her bu- 
rial. In the extremity of her pain, she frequently 
cried out, " O gracious Father ! have mercy on a 
poor child !" About eight hours previous to her 
close, she lay perfectly quiet, and departed as one 
falling into a sweet sleep ; and she has no doubt 
entered into everlasting rest. 



The following sketches of Stephen Kiah and Sarnh Draper arc 
from the pen of Jehudi Ashmun, who accompanied some of the 
first settlers of Monrovia, Africa, from Baltimore, the 20th of 
Sixth month, 1322, and arrived at the place of destination, the 9th 
of Eighth month, where, agreeably to instructions given by the 
Colonization Society, he acted as general agent for more than five 
years. 

2. During this time, by great and constant exertion, and extreme 
exposure to the climate, his health was so impaired that he was 
advised to attempt a recovery by returning to his native country. 
His departure is thus described by Lott Carey, a man of color, in 
whose charge the agency of the colony was left :— " Never, I sup- 



172 STEPHEN KIAII. 

pose, were greater tokens of respect shown by any community oa 
taking leave of their head. 

3. " Nearly the whole (at least two thirds) of the inhabitants of 
Monrovia, men, women, and children, were out on this occasion, 
and nearly all parted from him in tears. In my opinion, the hope 
of his return in a few months, alone enabled them to give him up. 
He is indeed dear to this people, and it will be a joyful day when 
we are permitted again to see him. He has left a written address 
containing valuable admonitions to officers, civil, military, and re- 
ligious." 

4. Ashmun, after considerable detention in the West Indies, ar- 
rived at New Haven, Connecticut, the 10th of Eighth month, 1828, 
but ao far exhausted as to continue but a short time. A few days 
before his death, he said to his friend who attended him, "I have 
been praying for light, and a little light has come, cheering and re- 
freshing beyond expression." 

5. Requesting the prayers of the congregation, he said, " I have 
a desire to recover, but I do not wish that to be the burden of the 
prayer. Let it be that I may acquiesce entirely in the will of God, 
and have communion with God. I wish the colony to be remem- 
bered ;" and as he spoke these words he wept. " Excuse my weak- 
ness," said he, " there are many good people there, and they are so 
dear, that when I think of seeing them no more, my feelings are too 
strong." He gently expired the 2.'>th of the same month, in the 
thirty-fifth year of his age. 



STEPHEN KIAH. 

It is due to the memory of this worthy man, to 
transmit, at least, a simple notice of his excellent 
character, to his descendants in this colony, and to 
all who may inherit after him the blessings of a 
civil and religious community, which his example, 
his influence, and above all, his prayers, have large- 
ly contributed toward establishing in this country. 



\ 

STEPHEN KIAII. ] 73 

2. He was a native of the eastern shore of Mary- 
land, and for upward of the first seventy years of 
his life, he resided there. It was his lot to be born 
a slave ; but long before the middle of life, by his 
industry and good conduct, he obtained his free- 
dom, and became the father of a numerous and 
highly respectable family, the condition of whose 
birth spared ihem all from the reproach (how r ever 
unjust) of having ever been in a state of servitude. 

3. His age could not be exactly ascertained, but 
from circumstances he could not be supposed to be 
under seventy-six years of age, at the time of em- 
barkation for Africa, in 1822; and, rarely as such 
circumstances occur, he at that lime retained, 
under so great a weight of years, and even to the 
last hour of his life, much of that soundness of 
judgment, promptness of recollection, and strength 
of memory, which had distinguished him in an 
unusual decree through life. 

4. The traits of his character were happily 
blended, and formed together an assemblage of 
very striking excellences, to which none who knew 
him could long remain insensible. Cheerful ness 
without levity; kindness tempered with discrimi- 
nating severity ; firmness joined with the most 
amiable docility, were among the most conspicu- 
ous. The manly firmness of inflexible principles, 
united with the lamblike meekness of a dependant 
and submissive child, were qualities, which, how- 
ever opposite in their appearance, were most liar- 

15* 



174 STEPHEN KIAH. 

moniously interwoven in the texture of his moral 
habits. 

5. His constitution had been robust, his habits 
laborious, and as a consequence, his circumstances, 
at the period of his emigration, were easy. His 
motive for this step at so advanced an age, he ex- 
plained by observing to me, that the remnant of his 
own life was of too little importance to oppose any 
obstacle to the promotion of an enterprise which 
he was anxious to aid by his example, for the sake 
of his descendants, and the colored people in 
America. 

6. He could not but make a sacrifice of some 
of the comforts of old age, by the removal, but he 
saw in the colony an asylum prepared by the prov- 
idence of God, for the people of color, on which he 
was firmly persuaded, that the dew of his heavenly 
blessing would copiously descend to the latest pe- 
riod. In this confidence, he cheerfully accompa- 
nied his numerous family to this distant coast, 
which, like Moses, he most earnestly desired, at 
least, to be permitted to behold, and like Jacob, to 
have his bones deposited there. And his desires 
were fulfilled. 

7. But he was not exempted from severe afflic- 
tions, which his faith so eminently fitted him to 
meet with composure, and sustain with the most 
exemplary patience. His aged partner was among 
the first of the expedition, who fell victims to the 



STEPHEN KIAII. 175 

change of climate; but the separation was rendered 
easy by the mutual confidence of a speedy reunion 
in the kingdom of heaven, which animated the 
bosoms of this aged couple. 

8. A pious widowed sister, who was older than 
himself, soon followed, in the assured hope of pass- 
ing to the immediate fruition of a holier and im- 
mortal life. To witness this scene of the accom- 
plishment of long-cherished hope, of putting off 
mortality and putting on immortality, was any 
thing but affliction ; — it was the triumph of faith 
and hope, and the peace of God, which passeth all 
understanding. 

9. But a few days after, he was called to furnish, 
in a new furnace of trials, another proof of his 
Christian fortitude and confidence. In the attack 
of the natives on the settlement, on the morning of 
the 11th of November, two of his grand-children 
fell before his eyes ; one of them having been kill- 
ed by a musket shot, and the other, a female, as- 
sassinated under circumstances of the most appal- 
ling barbarity. 

10. In the same hour, a worthy son-in-law, his 
principal earthly dependance under the infirmities 
of age, was disabled for life, by a severe wound in 
the shoulder, and five small grand-children carried 
into captivity. The children were restored, how- 
ever, after a short time. To discover no marks of 
affliction, under such wounding dispensations of 



176 STEPHEN KIAH. 

Heaven, would be to manifest an insensibility of 
heart, which, to say the least, is no part of Chris- 
tianity. 

1 1 . He felt the chastisement in all its severity. 
His heart bled, and his eyes overflowed; but in all 
this he sinned not, by repining against the ordi- 
nances of Heaven, by despairing of the divine 
mercy, or charging God foolishly. It was the se- 
verest trial of his life, and the more so from being 
sudden and unexpected : but he soon evinced the 
power of faith, and a faithful Saviour sustained 
him under his sorrows. 

12. He continued, although nearly worn out by 
the infirmities of age, to employ himself in such 
labors as his strength would permit. He was the 
advocate and promoter of every thing laudable ; a 
powerful reprover of all deceit, slothfulness, vice, 
and irreligion ; a most devout and humble worship- 
per of God, both in public and social meetings, and 
in his closet; a peaceable and exemplary member 
of the civil community ; and a most earnest, active, 
and faithful friend to the souls of his fellow-men, 
till his peaceful removal to a better world, in April, 
1825. 



SARAH DRAPER. 177 



SARAH DRAPER. 

A widow woman from Philadelphia, who ar- 
rived in June, 1823, without property, friends, or a 
lucrative trade, deserves an honorable mention 
among such of the colonists as have distinguished 
themselves by their well-directed industry. She 
has, at the present date, 1826, a well-cultivated, 
enclosed, and otherwise improved building lot in 
town, on which she has completed a commodious 
dwelling, of good materials ; to which she has gone 
far toward completing a still more valuable addi- 
tion. 

2. She provides respectably for two African 
children, whom she has undertaken to educate for 
the United States Agency ; and who are daily en- 
joying the advantages of the Free School of Mon- 
rovia. But the activity of this deserving female 
has not been confined to her little domestic im- 
provements. In 1824, she, with many other fe- 
males of the colony, received the common allot- 
ment of two acres of plantation lands. 

3. Unfortunately, hers fell on one of those rough 
and rugged spurs of Montscrado, whose rocky sur- 
face and sturdy forest growth seemed to defy the 
efforts of industry itself to subdue and tame it 



178 SARAH DRAPER. 

down to an arable stale. But Sarah Draper has 
accomplished this task. The whole lot is under 
cultivation ; and I this day had at my dinner three 
different species of vegetables, the growth of her 
plantation. 

4. She is the first female in whose name, title 
deeds of lands in Liberia have been executed ; and 
to increase the merit of this distinction, she has 
acquired the right to this valuable freehold by her 
own unassisted exertions. And what she has ac- 
complished, any female similarly circumstanced, 
who is capable of exercising the same degree of 
resolution, activity, and perseverance, may achieve 
in the same time. 



LOTT CAREY. 179 



LOTT CAREY. 



PRINCIPALLY FROM GURI.EY's LIFE OF ASHMUN. 



This interesting individual was born a slave, 
on the estate of William A. Christian, in Charles 
City county, about thirty miles below Richmond. 
In 1804, he was sent to that city, and hired out 
by the year as a common laborer at the Shockoe 
warehouse. At that time, and for two or three 
years after, he was excessively profane, and much 
addicted to intoxication. 

2. But God, who is rich in mercy, was pleased 
to awaken him to a sense of his lost estate ; and 
in the year 1807, he made open profession of his 
faith in the Saviour. A sermon which he heard 
about that time, founded on our Lord's interview 
with Nicodemus, awakened in him so strong a 
desire to be able to read, that he obtained a Tes- 
tament, and commenced learning his letters, by 
trying to read the chapter in which that interview 
is recorded. 

3. He was occasionally instructed by young 
gentlemen at the warehouse, though he never at- 
tended a regular school. In a little time, he was 
able to read and write, so as to make dray tickets, 
and superintend the shipping of tobacco. In this 
business, and in overseeing the labor of the other 



ISO LOTT CARET. 

hands in the warehouse, he was particularly use- 
ful ; so much so, that he received 800 dollars sal 
ary in 1820, the last year he remained there ; and 
he could have received a larger sum, if he would 
have continued. 

4. In the year 1813, he bought himself and 
his two little children, (his wife being dead,) for 
850 dollars, and thus became free.* At about the 
same time, he began to feel a particular interest 
in the welfare of his brethren in Africa ; and in 
accordance with this benevolent feeling, and also 
with a design to improve his own condition, lie 
emigrated to that country among the first settlers 
of Liberia, where he was the means of doing 
much p-ood to both colonists and natives. 

* The manner in which he obtained this sum of money to 
purchase himself and his children, reflects much credit on his 
character. It will be seen from the salary he received after he 
was free, and which he relinquished for the sake of doing good in 
Africa, that Ins services at the warehouse were highly estimated: 
but of thur n ii value, no one exct.pt a dealer in tobacco can form 
an idea. Notwithstanding the hundreds of hogsheads that were 
committ. (I to Ins charge, he could produce any one the instant it 
was called for ; and the shipments were made with a promptness 
and con ich as no person, white or black, has equalled 

in the same situation. For this correctness and fidelity, he was 
highly esteemed, and frequently rewarded by the merchant with a 
five dollar note. lie was allowed also to sell for his benefit, many 
small parcels of waste tobacco. It was by saving the little sums 
obtained in this way. with the aid of a subscription by tl»e mer- 
chants to whose mt. r. its he had been attentive, that he procured 
these S50 dollars which he paid for the freedom of himself and 
children. When the colonists were fitted out for Africa, he de- 
frayed a considerable part of his own expense. 



LOTT CAREY. • 161 

6. In reply to one of his friends, who desired 
lo know what inducement he had for going to 
Africa, when he was already so comfortably sit- 
uated, he said, " I am an African ; and in this 
country, however meritorious my conduct and' re- 
spectable my character, I cannot receive the credit 
due to cither. I wish to go to a country where I 
shall be estimated by my merits, not by my com- 
plexion. And I likewise feel bound to labor for 
my suffering race." 

6. Soon after he made a profession of religion, 
he commenced holding meetings and exhorting 
among the colored people ; and, though he had 
scarcely any knowledge of books, and but little 
acquaintance with mankind, he would frequently 
exhibit a boldness of thought, and a strength of 
native intellect, which no acquirement could ever 
have given him. 

7. At the close of his farewell sermon, on hia 
departure for Africa, lie remarked in substance as 
follows : " I am about to leave you ; and I expect 
to see your faces no more. I long to preach to 
the poor Africans the way of life and salvation. I 
don't know what may befall me, — whether I may 
find a grave in the ocean, or among the savage 
men or more savage wild beasts on the coast of 
Africa : nor am I anxious what may become of 
me ; I feel it my duty to go. 

8. " And I very much fear, that many of those 

who preach the gospel in this country, will blush 

16 



I*--] LOTT CARET. 

when the Saviour calls them to give an account of 
their labors in his cause, and lells tliein, ' I com- 
manded you to go into all llie world, and preach 
the gospel to every creature." And with the 
most forcible emphasis he exclaimed, "The Sav- 
iour ma) ask, 'Where have you been? What 
have you been doing? Have you endeavored to 
the utmost of your ability to fulfil the commands 
I gave you ? or hue you sought your own gratifi- 
cation and your own ease, regardless of my com- 
mands V n 

9. Jn his new home, his intellectual ability, firm- 
ness of purpose, unbending integrity, correct judg- 
ment, and disinterested benevolence, caused him 
to be beloved and respected, and gave him great 
influence : and he soon arose to honorable distinc- 
tion. The interests of the colony, and the cause of 
his countrymen, in both Africa and America, were 
very near to his heart. For them he was willing 
to toil, and to make almost an) sacrifice ; and he 
frequently declared, that no possessions in Amer- 
ica could induce him to return. 

10. He possessed a constitution peculiarly fitted 
for toil and exposure, and he fell the effects of the 
climate perhaps [ess than any other individual in 
the colony. During the sickly season of the year, 
he was usually wholly employed in attending the 
sick; and for more than a year, they had no other 
physician among them. The little medical infor- 
mation he hail obtained from Dr. Ayres and others 



LOTT CAREY. 183 

on the coast, together with several years' expe- 
rience, enabled him successfully to contend with 
the peculiar fevers of the climate. 

11. Under date of March 12th, 1824, shortly 
after the arrival of the Cyrus with 105 emigrants, 
he wrote : — " The fever began about the 24th 
ult., and on the 23th, we had 38 cases ; and by 
the 2d inst. we had 60 under the operation of 
medicine ; and at present, I have about a hundred 
cases of fever to contend with : but we have been 
very much favored, for they all appear to be on the 
recovery, and we have lost none, saving three chil- 
dren. I have very little time to write to you, my- 
self being the only man that will venture to act in 
the capacity of a physician." 

12. The managers of the American Coloniza- 
tion Society, in 1825, invited Carey to visit the 
United States, in the expectation that his intelli- 
gent and candid statements, concerning the con- 
dition and prospects of the colony and the moral 
wants of Africa, would exert a beneficial influence 
on the opinions of the people of color, and recom- 
mend the cause of the society to the public regard. 

13. In the month of April, 1826, he made 
arrangements to embark in the Indian Chief, on 
her return from taking a large number of emi- 
grants to the colony, and received from Ashmun 
testimonials of hia worth and services. The fol- 
lowing is an extract from a letter from Ashmun 
to the managers of the Colonization Society : — 



184 LOTT CAREY. 

14. " Tlie Rev. Lott Carey has, in my opinion, 
some claims on the justice of the society, or the 
government of the United States, or both, which 
merit consideration. These claims arise out of a 
long and faithful course of medical services ren- 
dered to this colony. More than one half of his 
time has been given up to the care of the sick, 
from the day I landed in Africa to the very mo- 
ment of slating the fact. He has personally 
aided, in every way that fidelity and benevolence 
could dictate, in all the attentions which our sick 
have in so long a period received. 

15. "Several times have these disinterested 
labors reduced him to the very verge of the grave. 
He has hitherto received no compensation, either 
from the society or the government, for these ser- 
vices. I need not add, that it has not been in his 
power to support himself and family, by any use 
he could make of the remnants of the time left 
him the amount of duties de- 
volving upon him. In addition, he has the care of 
the liberated Africans." 

16. Until near the time of the Indian Chiefs 
departure, ho cherished the hope of embarking in 
her for America. But as there was no other phy- 
sician in the colonv, it was finally thought best for 
him to postpone his departure until another oppor 
tunity. By the return of that vessel, he addressed 
the following letter to the secretary of the so- 
ciety : — 



LOTT CAREY. 185 

" JIunroria, April2\lh, 1826. 

" Rev. and Dear Sir, — 1 received your letter 
sent me by order of the Board of Managers of 
the American Colonization Society, and expected, 
until a few days ago, that the return of the Indian 
Chief would have enabled me, in all respects, to 
have realized all their wishes. But on a more 
minute examination of the subject, Mr. Ashmun 
and myself both were apprehensive that my leaving 
the colony at present, would endanger the lives of 
a number of the inhabitants. 

18. " Mr. Ashinun has, however, made a full 
statement to the board, which I have no doubt will 
be satisfactory to them. I think that, through the 
blessing of the Almighty, I shall be able to get 
the last expedition through the fever with very 
little loss: we have lost only three, the Kev. Mr. 
Tiueman, from Baltimore, and two children be- 
longing to the Paxton family. But the emigrants 
who came out in the Vine (from Boston) have suf- 
fered very much; we lost twelve of them. 

19. "The action of the disease was more pow- 
erful with them than is common ; they unfortu- 
nately arrived here in the most sickly month in 
the year, February. I am strongly of the opinion, 
sir, that if the people of New England leave there 
in the winter, that the transition is so great, that 
they may count upon a loss of half at least. They 
may, in my estimation, with safety, leave in the 

months from April to November, and arrive here 

16* 



186 LOTT CAREY. 

in good time. I think it to be a matter of great 
importance ; therefore I hope that you will regard 
it as such. 

" I am respectfully yours, 

" Lott Carey." 

20. Notwithstanding he on one occasion man- 
ifested a disposition for insubordination, yet, like 
a wise man and a Christian, he soon saw his error, 
and acknowledged it with humility and submis- 
sion. He was elected in September, 1826, to the 
vice agency of the colony, and discharged the 
duties of that important office until his death. 

21. In his good sense, moral worth, public 
spirit, courage, resolution, and decision, the colo- 
nial agent had perfect confidence. He knew that 
m times of difficulty or of danger, full reliance 
might be placed upon the energy and efficiency 
of Carey. 

22. When compelled, in the early part of 1823, 
to leave the colony, Ashmun committed the ad- 
ministration of the colonial affairs into the hands 
of the vice agent, in the full belief that no interest 
would be betrayed, but that his efforts would be 
constantly and anxiously directed to the promotion 
of the public good. 

23. Soon after, Carey wrote thus : — " Feeling 
very sensibly, my incompetency to enter upon the 
duties of my office, without first making all the 
officers of the colony well acquainted with the 



LOTT CAREY. 187 

principal objects which should engage our atten- 
tion, I invited them to meet at the Agency House 
on the 27th, at 9 o'clock, which was punctually 
attended to, and I then read all the instructions 
left by Mr. Ashmun, without reserve, and re- 
quested their co-operation. To get the new set- 
tlers located on their lands, was a very important 
item in my instructions ; and I trust, through the 
blessing of the great Ruler of events, we shall 
be able to realize all the expectations of Mr. Ash- 
mun." 

24. He soon purchased a large tract of land for 
the Colonization Society of the native kings ; and 
further said, " Captain Russell will be able to give 
something like a fair account of the state of our 
improvements, as he went with me to visit the set- 
tlements, and seemed pleased with the prospect at 
Millsburg, Caldwell, and the HalfwayFarms." 

25. In a letter to the lamented Ashmun, Carey 
stated, " Things are nearly as you left them ; 
most of the work that you directed to be done, is 
nearly accomplished. The public farm is doing 
pretty well. The Millsburg farms are doing very 
well. I think it would do you good to see that 
place at this time. The missionaries, although 
they have been sick, are now, I am happy to in- 
form you, recovered ; and at present are able to 
attend to their business." 

26. To the secretary of the Colonization So- 
ciety, July 19th, he wrote, "I have the honor to 



188 LOTT CAREY. 

acknowledge the receipt of your letter, forwarded 
by Captain Chase, of Providence, with the Repos- 
itory, &c, &c. : and permit me to say, that these 
communications are read with pleasure, and that 
nothing affords more joy to the colony, than to hear 
of the prosperity of the Colonization Society, and 
that you have some hopes of aid from the general 
government, which makes us more desirous to en- 
large our habitation, and extend the borders of the 
colony. 

27. " I am happy to say, that the health, peace, 
and prosperity of the colony, I think, are still ad- 
vancing; and I hope that the board of managi - 
may have their wishes and expectations realized 
to their fullest extent, with regard to the present 
and future prosperity of the colony." 

28. For about six months after the departure 
of Ashnnin from the colony, Carey sto.nl at its 
head, and conducted himself with such energy 
and wisdom, as to do honor to his previous repu- 
tation, and fix the seal upon his enviable fame. 
But, alas! he was suddenly and unexpectedly, 
and in a distressing manner, forced from life, in all 
its vigor, by the explosion of gunpowder, on the 
8th of November, in which eight persons lost 
their lives. 

29. Carey was thrice married, and thrice he 
was left a widower. His firs! wife died, as before 
related, previous to his becoming free. His sec- 
ond wife died at Foura Bay, near Sierra Leone, 



LOTT CAREY. 189 

shortly after arriving in Africa. Of her triumph- 
ant death, lie has given a most affecting account 
in his journal of that date. His third wife died 
at Cape Montserado. She was the daughter of 
Richard Sampson from Petersburgh. 

30. It has been very well said of Carey, that 
he was one of nature's noblemen. Had he pos- 
sessed the advantages of education, few men of 
his age would have excelled him in knowledge or 
genius. To found a Christian colony which might 
prove a blessed asylum to his degraded brethren 
in America, and enlighten and regenerate Africa, 
was, in his view, an object with which no temporal 
good, not even life, could be compared. 

31. The strongest sympathies of his nature 
were excited in behalf of his unfortunate people, 
and the divine promise cheered and encouraged 
him in his labors for their imorovement and sal- 
vation. A main pillar in the society and church 
of Liberia has fallen ! But we will not despond. 
The memorial of his worth shall never perish. It 
shall stand in a clearer light, when every chain is 
broken, and Christianity shall have assumed her 
sway over the millions of Africa. 



190 NOTICES OF LIBERIA. 



NOTICES OF LIBERIA. 

The following account of the productions and 
climate of the colony (written about five years 
after its establishment) is from Gurley's Life ot 
Ashmun : — " Quadrupeds, — horses, cattle in abun- 
dance, sheep, goats in abundance, asses lately in- 
troduced, swine numerous. Funis, — ducks, geese, 
and Guinea fowls. Fish, — nowhere found in great- 
er quantities. Fruits, — plantains, bananas in abun- 
dance, limes, lemons, tamarinds, oranges, sousop, 
cashew, mango, twenty varieties of the prune, 
guava, papaw, pine-apple, grape, tropical peach, 
and cherry. 

2. " Vegetables, — sweet potato, cassada, yams, 
cocoa, ground-nuts, arrowroot, egg-plant, ocre, 
cucumbers, and pumpkins, every variety of beans, 
and most sorts of peas. Grains, — rice, (the 
staple,) Indian corn, millet, and Guinea corn. 
Coffee, excellent and abundant ; pepper of three 
varieties, each of which is equal to Cayenne ; cot- 
ton — staple good, but not vet cultivated. To these 
may be added indigo, which, it is thought, may be 
raised to advantage, and the sugar-cane, which, 
doubtless, will ultimately receive attention." 

3. In speaking, not long before he left, of the 
improvement in the colony, relative lo the fever 
which had prevailed, of Caldwell he observed, 



NOTICES OF LIBERIA. 191 

" Taking its past history for a criterion, a healthier 
settlement of equal extent, is not, I presume, to be 
found in all the salubrious regions of the extensive 
west of our own country." 



The following sentences are extracted from a 
valuable article in the Amulet for 1832, ascribed to 
a distinguished British officer, who had been three 
years on the African coast : — " Nothing has tend- 
ed more- to suppress the slave trade in this quarter, 
than the constant intercourse and communication 
of the natives with these industrious colonists. 

2. " The American agent, Mr. Ashmun, took 
every opportunity and means in his power, to ex- 
tinguish a traffic so injurious in every way to the 
fair trader ; and at Cape Montserado, good and 
correct information was always to be obtained of 
any slave vessel on the coast, within the commu- 
nication or influence of the colony. This active, 
respectable, and intelligent man, is since dead, but 
his spirit still actuates all his people. 

3. " They have several large boats and small 
decked vessels belonging to their community, and 
others in progress of building. These are active- 
ly employed in trading along the coast, and keep- 
ing up the intercourse with Caldwell and the in- 
terior. The character of these industrious colo- 
nists is exceedingly correct and moral, their minds 



192 NOTICES OF L1DERIA. 

strongly impressed with religious feelings, their 
manners serious and decorous, and their domestic 
habits remarkably neat and comfortable. 

4. " Their houses are well built, ornamented with 
gardens and other pleasing decorations, and in the 
inside are remarkably clean — the walls well white- 
washed, and the rooms neatly furnished. They 
are very hospitable to strangers, and many English 
naval officers on the station have been invited to 
dine with them, and have joined in their meals, 
which were wholesome and good. The man of 
the house regularly said grace, both before and 
after meat, with much solemnity, in which he was 
joined by the rest of the family, with great seem- 
ing sincerity 

5. " They all speak good English, as their 
native language, and without any defect of pro- 
nunciation. They are well supplied with books, 
particularly Bibles and liturgies. They have pas- 
tors of their own color, and meeting houses in 
which divine service is well and regularly per- 
formed every Sunday, and they have four schools 
at Cape Montscrado, and three at Caldwell. By 
one ship alone, they received five hundred volumes, 
presented by Dartmouth College, besides several 
boxes and packets of school books, sent by friends 
at Boston. 

('). " The complete success of this colony is a 
proof that negroes are, by proper care and atten- 
tion, as susceptible of the habits of industry and 



NOTICES OF LIBERIA. 193 

the improvements of social life, as any other race 
of human beings : and that the melioration of the 
condition of the black people on the coast of Af- 
rica, by means of such colonies, is not chimerical. 
Wherever the influence of this colony extends, the 
slave trade has been abandoned by the natives, and 
the peaceful pursuits of legitimate commerce es- 
tablished in its place. A few colonies of this 
kind scattered along the coast, would be of infinite 
value in improving the natives." 



Thomas Buchanan, Agent of the New York 
and Philadelphia Young Men's Colonization So- 
ciety, sailed for Bassa Cove on the 23d of Novem- 
ber, 1835. He arrived at Monrovia on the first of 
January, and proceeded to the settlement of which 
he had charge, on the eighth. The following is 
an extract from one of his letters : — " I find a state 
of things here altogether better than I had ever 
anticipated, even when trying to imagine the bright- 
est side of the picture ; but with my present im- 
perfect .ability to detect tlft errors of first impres- 
sions, I shall withhold the remarks which my feel- 
ings would prompt. 

2. " I visited New Georgia, Congo Town, and 
Caldwell, on Tuesday last, in company with some 
gentlemen of this place, for the purpose of seeing 
some of our emigrants who had been located at 

17 



194 NOTICES OF LIBERIA. 

those places. With all these towns I was much 
pleased, but this term is too feeble entirely to con- 
vey the delightful emotions excited by the appear- 
ance of things in the two first-named villages, 
which are the residences of the recaptured Afri- 
cans. The air of perfect neatness, thrift, and com- 
fort, which reigns throughout, afforded a lovely 
commentary on the advancement which these in- 
teresting people have made in civilization and 
Christian order, under the patronage of the Colo 
nization Society. 

3. " Imagine to yourself a level plain of some 
two or three hundred acres laid off into square 
blocks, with streets intersecting each other at right 
angles, as smooth and clean as the best-swept side- 
walk in Philadelphia, and lined with well-planted 
hedges of cassava and plum ; houses surrounded 
with gardens luxuriant with fruit and vegetables ; 
a school-house full of orderly children, neatly 
dressed and studiously engaged ; and then say 
whether I was guilty of extravagance in exclaim- 
ing, as I did after surveying this most lovely scene, 
that had the Colonization Society accomplished 
nothing more than had been done in the rescue 
from slaver}' and savage habits of these three hun- 
dred happy people, I should be well satisfied." 



END OF PAUT I. 



PART II. 
INTERESTING ANECDOTES, 



EBEDMELECK'S KINDNESS. 

" Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the 
leopard his spots ?" No ; the laws of Providence 
are fixed. Although God has made men of vari- 
ous colors, and scattered them over the habitable 
globe, yet all alike arc the objects of his care ; and 
to them has he manifested, through all generations, 
the greatness of his power, the wisdom of his 
ways, and the tenderness of his love. 

2. Many instances of his peculiar favor to the 
faithful and obedient, are recorded in the Bible lor 
our encouragement. In the time of Jeremiah the 
prophet, when the King of Babylon had carried 
away many of the Jews into captivity, but had left 
a number at Jerusalem, to have charge of the city, 
and had placed Zedekiah as king over them, they 
rebelled against the Babylonians, and would not 



190 ebedmeleck's kindness, 

submit to their government, though they were per- 
mitted the free use of their own laws. 

3. For this rebellious and obstinate disposition, 
they were frequently reproved of the Lord by the 
mouth of the prophet Jeremiah ; but they would 
not listen to his counsel ; and hardening their 
hearts, even to cruelty, they cast the prophet into 
a deep pit, where there was much mire and filth, 
so that he was nigh unto death. At this time, there 
was in the king's house a pious and noted Ethio 
pian, (an African,) whose name was Ebedmeleck. 

4. He was much affected with the cruelty of 
King Zedckiah and his princes toward Jeremiah, 
and he took the liberty of stating to the king the 
sufferings of Jeremiah, and the probability that if 
he remained there much longer, he would die of 
hunger and suffocation. This statement so wrought 
on the feelings of the king, that he gave Ebedme- 
leck permission to go and raise him out of his 
dungeon. So taking with him a sufficient number 
of men, he let down cords to Jeremiah, and direct- 
ing him to place them properly under his arms, 
they drew him out, and he remained in the court 
of the prison. 

5. While Jeremiah was in this latter place of 
confinement, the word of the Lord to him was : 
" Speak to Ebedmeleck, saying, Thus saith the 
Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will 
bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for 
good ; and they shall be accomplished in that day 



ebedmeleck's kindness. 197 

before thee. But I will deliver thee in that day, 
and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the 
men of whom thou art afraid. For I will surely 
deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, 
but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee ; because 
thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the Lord." 

6. Thus we see, that, long before the declaration 
was made by Christ to his apostles, the law by 
which mankind were governed, was as it still re- 
mains to be — " Blessed are the merciful, for they 
shall obtain mercy;" and, "With what measure 
ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." 

7. In a short time after this message was deliv- 
ered by Jeremiah to Ebedmeleck, the King of 
Babylon again sent his army against Jerusalem, 
broke down its walls, and made captives of many 
of the inhabitants, among whom were Zedekiah, 
with his sons and his princes. The sons and 
princes were put to death, but after putting out 
the eyes of Zedekiah, and binding him with chains, 
they carried him with many of the Jews to Baby- 
lon, and put him in prison, where he remained 
until his death. 

8. But while the King of Babylon was thus in- 
censed against Zedekiah for his rebellion, and 
chastising him for his obstinacy, he remembered 
Jeremiah, and gave his principal officer a particu- 
lar charge respecting him, saying, " Take him and 
look well to him, and do him no harm ; but do 
unto him even as he shall say unto thee." So 

17* 



198 ebedmeleck's kindness. 

Jeremiah was taken out of the court of the prison, 
and committed to the care of Gedeliah, that he 
should carry him home, and take care of him : 
and he dwelt among the people. 

9. Thus was the promise of the Lord fulfilled. 
For in the day that he called him to be a prophet, 
and put his word in his mouth, he declared that 
though they should rise up and fight against him, 
they should not prevail ; " For I am with thee, 
saith the Lord, to deliver thee." 

10. And although we have no further account 
of Ebedmeleck, yet we have every reason to be- 
lieve that the promise to him was also fulfilled ; 
as it was made by Him whose promises are sure, 
and whose word faileth not. 



THE GOOD MASTER, ETC. 199 



TWO INSTANCES OF GENUINE BENEVOLENCE 
AND STRONG ATTACHMENT. 

THE GOOD MASTER AND HIS FAITHFUL 

SLAVE. 

Translated from the French. 

Warner Mifflin, for his candor, affability, and 
knowledge, was ranked among those who are an 
honor to their country and their age. He had re- 
ceived from his father thirty-seven negroes, old 
and young. The day that he had fixed upon for 
their emancipation being come, he called them 
one after another into his chamber, and this was 
the conversation that passed with one of them : — 

2. " Well, my friend James, how old art thou ?" 
" I am twenty-nine and a half years old, master." 
" Thou shouldst have been free, as thy white 
brethren are, at twenty-one. Religion and human- 
ity enjoin me this day to give thee thy liberty, and 
justice requires me to pay thee for eight and a half 
years' service, at the rate of twenty-one pounds 
and five shillings per annum, including in it thy 
food and raiment, making altogether a sum of 
ninety-five pounds, twelve shillings, and six pence 
owing to thee ; but as thou art young and healthy, 
thou hadst better work for thy living : my inten- 



200 THE GOOD MASTER 

tion is to give thee a bond for it, bearing interest 
at the rate of seven per cent. 

3. " Thou hast now no master but God and the 
laws. Go into the next room ; thou wilt find there 
thy late mistress and my nephew ; they are en- 
gaged in writing thy manumission. May God 
bless thee, James ! Be wise and industrious ; in 
all thy trials, thou wilt find a friend in thy old 
master." 

4. James, surprised at a scene so new and af- 
fecting, shed many tears ; astonishment, gratitude, 
and a variety of feelings, shook his frame. He 
shed a flood of tears, and could scarcely articulate 
these words : " Ah, my master ! why do you give 
me my liberty ? 1 have always had what I want- 
ed : we have worked together in the fields, and I 
have worked as much for myself as for you. 

5. " I have eaten of the same food, and been 
clothed like you — and we have gone together on 
foot to meeting. We have the Sabbath to our- 
selves : we don't lack any thing. When we are 
sick, our good and tender mistress comes to our 
bedside, always saying something consolatory to 
us. Ah, my dear master ! when I am free, where 
shall I go ? and when I am sick — " 

6. "Thou shall be as the whites; thou shalt 
hire with those who will give thee generous 
wages : in a few years, thou shalt purchase a 
piece of land, marry a wife, wise and industrious 
as thyself, and rear up children, as I have reared 



AND FAITHFUL SLAVE. 201 

thee, in the fear of the Lord and love of labor- 
After having lived free and happy, thou slialt die 
in peace. 

7. " Thou must accept liberty, James ; it is a 
great while since it was due to thee. Would to 
God, the Father of all men, that the whites had 
never thought of trading in thy African brethren : 
may he inspire all men with the desire of follow- 
ing our example. We, who regard liberty as the 
first of blessings, why should we refuse it to those 
who live among us ?" 

8. " Ah, my master ! you are so good is the 
reason I wish not to leave you — / have never been 
a slave. You have never spoken to me but as 
you speak to white men ; I have lacked nothing, 
either in sickness or in health ; I have never 
worked more than your neighbors, who have work- 
ed for themselves. 

9. " I have been richer than many whites — to 
some of whom I have lent money. And my good 
and tender mistress never commands us to do any 
thing, but makes us do every thing by only saying, 
' Please to do it.' How shall I leave you ? give me 
by the year what you will, in the name of a free- 
man or a slave, it is of little consequence to me — 
I shall never be happy but with you — I will never 
leave you." 

10. "Well, James, I consent to what thou de- 
sirest : after thy manumission shall have passed 
through the necessary forms, I will hire thee by 



202 EZEK1EL COSTON. 

the year ; but take at least one week of relaxation ; 
it is a great epoch of thy life ; celebrate it with 
joy, and rest by doing whatsoever thou wilt." 

11. "No, master! it is seed time — I will take 
my pleasure another time — one day only shall be 
a holiday in my family. Then, since you will have 
it so, I will accept my liberty ; and my first action, 
as a free man, is to take your hand, my master, 
press it between mine, and lay it on my heart ; 
where the attachment and gratitude of James will 
not cease, until tint ceases to beat ; and until that 
moment, be assured that no laborer in the county 
of Kent, will be more industrious than he who 
henceforth shall be called Faitfhul James."* 



EZEKIEL COSTON, 

Aged upward of eiixhtv-thrce years, related to 
Samuel Canby, of Wilmington, Delaware, in Sec- 
ond month, 1^25, the following circumstances of 
his freedom from his master, the late Warner Mif- 
flin, with other incidents of his life : and it may 
be observed, that he has always supported an un 
blemished character : — 

2. J'liat Ik- was bom a slave in the family of 
Daniel Mifflin, of Accomack county, Virginia, with 

♦ Tins account, wilh ndditional particulars, may be found in the 
''Recueil Choisi," undi-r ihe head of " Le Genereux Quaker." 



EZEKIEL COSTON. 203 

whom he lived until about twenty years of age ; 
about which period, Warner Mifflin (son of Dan- 
iel) married a daughter of John Kensey's, of West 
River, Maryland, and settled near Camden, in the 
state of Delaware. Ezekiel, and five other slaves, 
were given him by his father ; there were also a 
number of slaves belonging to his wife brought 
into the family. 

3. He lived with Warner Mifflin about eighteen 
months, when he put him on a plantation of his 
to work it, about six miles from his residence, 
where he continued about four years a slave. At 
this period, Ezekiel was informed by his master, 
that, he had concluded to set his slaves free : and 
very soon after, his master came to his residence, 
and calling him from the field, where he was 
ploughing, they sat down together, when he told 
Ezekiel his mind had long been uneasy with hold- 
ing slaves, and that he must let him go. 

4. Ezekiel was so well satisfied with his present 
situation, that he told his master he could not leave 
him. Their conversation on the subject produced 
such feelings of tenderness, that they both wept 
much. Finally, as an inducement to comply, his 
master told him he might remain on the farm ; and 
they entered into a mutual engagement, which was 
carried into effect, and Ezekiel continued to live 
on the farm fourteen years ; when his master gave 
him a piece of land, upon which he built a house, 
where he remained until he came into the neigh- 



204 EZEKIEL ( 

borhood of Wilmington ; where, and in that town, 
he has resided until the present time. 

5. After relating the foregoing narrative, he was 
inquired of respecting the account entitled "The 
Good Master and his Faithful Slave" — a circum- 
stance which took place about the time of his 
being liberated, and in the same family — to which 
he bore the following testimony, shedding many 
tears while the reader was pursuing the theme, 
saying, "It is just so; poor Jem and I lived to- 
gether with master, and worked together in har- 
mony. How well I remember when Jem told me 
that Master Mifflin had done the same by him as 
he had done for me. 

6. " It is all true — mistress brought a number of 
slaves with her into the family, after master mar- 
ried her — one of them was my wife — all the rest 
of us, making, I suppose, about thirty, were given 
by old master to Master Warner, who is now an 
angel in heaven. ! how it comforts me to be- 
lieve, thai alter suffering a few mure pains, I shall 
live with him for ever in communion sweet ! We 
were brought up children together, slept together, 
eat at the same table, and never quarrelled." 

7. The dear old man seems indeed like one 
waiting with Christian resignation for an entrance 
into the heavenly kingdom. I have no doubt of 
the correctness of his testimony. He appears to 
have as perfect a recollection of the days of his 
childhood, as though they had but just passed. 



AN ANECDOTE. 205 



AN ANECDOTE 

Communicated to D. R. Smith and Stacy B. Collins, on the way 
from Charleston to Savannah, by a fellow-passenger. 

A slave belonging to his grandmother, was car- 
ried off when a boy by the British, in the time of 
the revolutionary war, to Nova Scotia, where he 
lived several years ; but he did not forget his old 
home and friends, and he returned to his mislress, 
giving himself up as a slave. But she, not having 
employment for him, talked of selling him. He 
told her if she did, he was determined to destroy 
himself, for that it was nothing but his attachment 
to the family that brought him back. He was 
then suffered to work out, paying a certain part of 
his wages to his owner. 

2. The family soon after became embarrassed ; 
and one of the grandsons was sent to the West 
Indies to a relation. Just as he was embarking, 
the faithful black put into his hand a purse, con- 
taining all his little earnings, and insisted upon his 
young master's taking it, saying he had no use for 
the money himself, and his master might want it 
in a strange country, away from his friends. The 
black, still living in Charleston, was suffered to 
work for himself. He has had repeated offers of 
his liberty, but he prefers living in the family that 

brought him up. 

\ 18 



206 THE COLORED FOUNDLING. 



THE COLORED FOUNDLING. 

A poor, but honest and respectable, old black 
man, whose name was Hector, resided in Philadel- 
phia. He and his wife lived on the scanty earnings 
of their own hands, in a very small cottage. One 
evening, at a late hour, a woman of their own 
color, with an infant, stopped at their dwelling and 
asked for a night's lodging, to which his wife an- 
swered, " We can't lodge you, we got but one 
bed." " O," said the old man, seeing her a stran- 
ger, and in difficulty, " let her tag, [stay,] she sleep 
in de bed with you, I go make a bed on de floor — 
must not turn her out o' doors." 

2. The woman accordingly stayed j and in the 
night, Hector was awaked by the cries of the 
child. He arose to ascertain the cause of it, and 
found the mother was gone ; on which he aroused 
his wife, saying, "Well, Sukey, you see de wo- 
man has gone off and lef ' de child for you." " !" 
said his wife, " what shall wc do now ? she never 
come again." " Well," returned Hector, " then 
you must take care of him : who knows God 
Almighty send him here for something — may be 
to take care of us in our old age — must not turn 
him out o' doors." 

3. So thev fed and nourished it with milk from 
the market — the old man going regularly to pro- 



TWO PETITIONS. 207 

cure it. No one appearing, the child became their 
adopted. When he had attained the age of eight 
or nine years, proving an active lad, they put him 
to a chimney-sweeper, as the most likely way for 
him to become early useful, and he soon contrib- 
uted a" little to his smardians' subsistence. 

4. They at length grew quite infirm, and the 
wife died. After which, the neighbors, thinking it 
too much for the lad to have the whole care of the 
old man, prevailed on him to go to the Bettering 
House. When there, the boy did not forsake, but 
frequently visited him, and continued to add to his 
support until he died ; a few days after which, the 
lad died also, having grown up beloved and re- 
spected. 



TWO PETITIONS, 

From Southwark and its vicinity, praying for 
the immediate and universal abolition of the slave 
trade, were presented to parliament in 1814; one 
to the House of Lords, by the Duke of Sussex, 
the ether to the House of Commons, by Henry 
Thornton. Each petition weighed 35 pounds, 
contained 252 skins of parchment, measured 579 
feet, and was signed by 35,127 persons. They 
were carried into the houses by the negro lads 
training by the British and Foreign School Soci- 
ety, as school-masters for Africa. 



208 LOUIS DESROULEAUX. 



LOUIS DESROULEAUX. 

The anecdote of Louis Desrouleaux, a negro 
pastry-cook of Nantes, is little known. After he 
left Nantes, he lived at the Cape, where he had 
been a slave of Pinsum, of Bayonne, a captain in 
the slave trade, who came with great riches to 
France, where he lost it all, and returned to St. 
Domingo. Those who, when he was rich, called 
themselves his friends, now took very little notice 
of him. 

2. IiOuis, who had acquired a fortune by his 
industry and prudence, supplied their place. He 
learned the situation of his old master, hastened to 
find him, gave him lodging and nourishment, and 
also proposed that he should live in France, where 
his feelings would not be mortified by the sight of 
ungrateful men. 

3. " But I cannot find a subsistence in France," 
said Pinsum. " Will an annual revenue of fifteen 
thousand francs be sufficient ?" At this proposal, 
Pinsum wept for joy. The contract was signed, 
and the pension regularly paid, until the death of 
Louis Desrouleaux, which happened in 1774. 



THE GRATEFUL NEGRO. 209 



THE GRATEFUL NEGRO. 

Some years since, a gentleman who was the 
possessor of considerable property, from various 
causes, became embarrassed in his circumstances 
and was arrested by his creditors, and confined in 
the king's bench prison ; whence there was no 
probability of his being liberated, unless some law 
proceedings (upon his succeeding in which the 
recovery of a great part of his property depended) 
were decided in his favor. 

2. Thus situated, he called a negro who had for 
many years served him with the greatest faithful 
ness, and said, " Robert, you have lived with mc 
many years, but I am now unable to maintain you 
any longer ; you must leave mc, and endeavor to 
find another master." 

3. The poor negro, well remembering his mas- 
ter's kindness, replied, " No, massa, me no leave 
you; you maintain me many years, me now try 
what T can do for you." Robert then wont and 
procured employment as a day laborer, and regu- 
larly brought his earnings to his master; on which, 
although small, they managed to subsist for some 
time, until the law suit was decided in the master's 
favor, and he thereby regained possession of a very 
considerable property. 

18* 



210 THE FAITHFUL NEGRESS. 

4. Mindful of his faithful negro, one of his first 
acts was to settle an annuity upon him for the re- 
mainder of his life, sufficient to secure to the poor 
fellow the enjoyment of those comforts lie had so 
well deserved. This little anecdote may afford 
instruction both to the nominal and professing 
Christian: let the former inquire, Should I have 
acted thus, if in a similar situation ? 



THE FAITHFUL NEGRESS. 

FROM TH£ LADIES' MONTHLY MDSECM. 

In the dreadful earthquake which made such 
ravages in the island of St. Domingo, in the year 
1770, a negress of Port-au-Prince, found herself 
alone in the house of her master and mistress, with 
their youngest child, which she nursed. The 
house shook to its foundation. Every one had 
taken flight ; she alone could not escape, without 
leaving her infant charge in danger. 

2 V She flew to the chamber, where it lay in the 
most profound sleep. At the moment the walls 
of the house fell in, anxious only for the safety of 
her foster child, she threw herself over it, and, serv- 
ing as a sort of arch, saved it from destruction. 
The child was indeed saved ; but the unfortunate 
negress died soon after, the victim of her fidelity. 



COFFIN. 



COFFIN. 

FROM DR. MOYES's LECTURER. 

During the late war, a gentleman and his wife 
were going from the East Indies to England. His 
wife died on the passage, and left two infants, the 
charge of which fell to a negro boy about seven- 
teen years of age. The gentleman, for some 
reason which I do not recollect, went on board 
the vessel of the commodore of the fleet in which 
they sailed. There came on a violent storm, and 
the vessel which the children were on board of, 
was on the point of being lost. 

2. They despatched a boat from the commo- 
dore's vessel, to save as many as they could. They 
had almost filled the boat, and there was room 
enough for the infants, or the negro boy. What 
did he do ? He did not hesitate a moment, but 
put the children into the boat, and said, " Tell my 
master that Coffin has done his duty ;" and that 
instant he was received into the bosom of the 
ocean, never more to return. The queen request- 
ed the celebrated poetess, Hannah More, to write 
an epic poem on it, but she wisely declined it, 
saying that no art could embellish so noble a 
sentimfi"* 



212 JOB BEN SOLOMON'. 



JOB BEN SOLOMON, 

An African, of an uncommonly retentive mem- 
ory, was son of the Mohammedan king of Bunda, 
on the Gambia. He was taken in 1730, brought 
to America, and sold in Maryland. By a train of 
extraordinary adventures, he was at length taken 
to England, where his dignified and pleasing man- 
ners, and his superior talents, gained him many 
friends ; and among others Hawstone, baronet, for 
whom he translated several Arabic manuscripts. 

2. After being received and treated with respect 
at the court of St. James, the African Company re- 
conducted him to Bunda. One of his uncles, who 
les there, embracing him, said, "During sixty 
years, thou art the first slave that I have seen re- 
turn from the American isles.'" lie wrote many 
letters to his friends in Europe and America, which 
were translated and perused with interest. At his 
father's death, he became his successor, and was 
much beloved by his subjects. 



ANTHONY WILLIAM AMO. 213 



ANTHONY WILLIAM AMO, 

Born in Guinea, was brought to Europe when 
very young, and the Princess of Brunswick Wol- 
fenbuttle took charge of his education. He pur- 
sued his studies at Halle, in Saxony, and at Wit- 
temberg; and so distinguished himself by his tal- 
ents and good conduct, that the rector and council 
of the university of the last-mentioned town, gave 
a public testimony of the same in a letter of con- 
gratulation. 

2. Amo, skilled in the knowledge of the Latin 
and Greek languages, delivered with success, pri- 
vate lectures on philosophy, which are highly 
praised in the same letters. In an abstract pub- 
lished by the dean of the philosophical faculty, it 
is said of this learned negro, that, having examined 
both systems, ancient and modern, he selected and 
taught all that was best of them. 

3. He became a doctor, and in 1744 published 
dissertations on some subjects which obtained the 
approbation of the University of Wittemberg ; and 
the president, when speaking of one of them, says, 
" It underwent no change, because it was well ex- 
ecuted, and it indicates a mind exercised in re- 
flection." But what became of him afterward, is 
not recorded in the work from which these extracts 
are taken. 



214 JAMES DERHAM. 



BERONICUS, 

A chimney-sweeper in Holland, united that 
occupation, which is considered the most unfavor- 
able to mental improvement, with that of a poetic 
genius, and wrote many pieces of Latin verse. 
And his poems, in two books, entitled, " Georgas, 
or the Battle between the Peasants and the Great," 
was translated and reprinted at Middlebury, in 
1766. 



JAMES DERHAM, 

Originally a slave in Philadelphia, was sold 
by his master to a physician, who employed him 
ui his shop as assistant in the preparation of drugs. 
During the war between America and England, he 
was sold to a surgeon, ami by that surgeon to Dr. 
Robert Dove, of New Orleans. He learned the 
English, French, and Spanish languages, so as to 
speak them with case. 

2. lb was received a member of the English 
church : and in the year 1788, when he was about 
iwenty-one years of age, he became one of the 
most distinguished physicians in New Orleans. " I 



JAMES DERHAM. 213 

conversed with him on medicine," says Dr. Rush, 
" and found him very learned. I thought I could 
give him information concerning the treatment of 
diseases, but I learned more from him than he 
could expect from me." 

3. The Pennsylvania Society, established in fa- 
vor of the people of color, thought it their duty, in 
1789, to publish these facts, which are also related 
by Dickson, page 184. In the Domestic Medicine 
of Buchan, and in a work of Duplaint, we find ac- 
counts of a cure foj the bite of the rattlesnake I 
know not whether Derham was its discoverer, but 
it is a well-known fact that one of his color did 
make such a discovery, for which he received, 
from the General Assembly of Carolina, his free- 
dom and an annuity of a hundred pounds sterling. 



21G THE SWEEP AND THE TOMBSTONES. 



THE SWEEP AND THE TOMBSTONES. 

FROM THE NEW YORK OBSERVER. 

Some time ago, you printed an account, which I 
sent you, of two little sweeps. I now send you an 
anecdote about another of these poor boys. It is 
written down nearly as it was communicated to 
me : Jack had been several years apprenticed to 
his master, and was almost twelve years old, but 
he could not read. No person had ever taken any 
pains to teach him, and his master, though kind, 
was an ignorant man, and there was not a book in 
his house. 

2. One day, as Jack was going along the street, 
he saw several school boys, about his own age, 
playing at marbles, and as he was very fond of the 
game, he stopped to look at them. His attention 
was soon caught by something new to him : this 
was their books, ranged in a line by the side of a 
wall. He ventured to take hold of one, and was 
turning over the leaves, when the boy to whom it 
belonged came up, and angrily asked him what he 
was about. 

3. Jack took some marbles out of his pocket, 
and offered to give them to the boy, if he would 
let him look at the book till the game was over. 
The owner consented, and Jack turned over the 
leaves, but of course rould not make out its con- 



THE SWEEP AND THE TOMBSTONES. 217 

tenls. The game being ended, the boys dispersed ; 
Jack returned the book, and asked the boy many 
questions about reading, and for another marble 
he persuaded him to read some of his lessons be- 
fore they parted. 

4. The next day, Jack felt desirous to learn to 
read also, and not knowing any other plan, he 
watched for the boy's return from school, and after 
some talk about books, asked him to teach him to 
read, and offered him a marble for every letter he 
taught him. The boy consented, and Jack set 
about trying to win marbles enough to pay his lit- 
tle master, and being a good shot, he succeeded, 
though not without some pains.* His teacher used 
to meet him every day for some time, and the little 
sweep soon began to spell words of one syllable. 

5. One day, Jack came as before to the place 
where they used to meet, but did not find his 
teacher ; he searched for him, and finding him busy 
at marbles, he waited till the game should be over. 
After a short time, to his great sorrow, the boy 
called out, " Sootty boy, I can't teach you any 
more ; father and mother both have scolded me be- 
cause you have dirtied my book with your black 
hands." 

6. Poor Jack had not expected this ; but he was 
unwilling to be disappointed, and^being very differ- 

• The compiler approves of Jack's motive, but not the practice 
of plaving at marbles as a game. 

19 



21 S THE SWEEP AND THE TOMBSTONES. 

ent from some idle children who ire glad of any 
excuse to escape their lessons, he offered to pay 
two marbles for every lesson, and to wash his 
hands carefully every day. This was in vain ; his 
teacher was either tired of the task, or afraid of 
being blamed about his book. All now seemed to 
be at an end, when Jack recollected that he had 
seen letters on the tombstones in the churchyard, 
and as these could not be hurt by his black fingers, 
he mentioned this plan to the boys, and offered to 
go on paying any one who would teach him to read 
the words on the stones. 

7. The boys were struck with his anxiety to 
learn, and agreed that they would take it by turns 
to teach him, and immediately began. After con- 
tinuing this method for some days, one of thera 
offered to take him to a Sunday school. Jack 
readily agreed. The superintendent was pleased 
with his anxiety to learn, ami took pains to procure 
him instruction on w lays also. 11.' applied 
diligently, and soon was able to read and write; 
;on[ what was far better, from the instructions he 
received, he was broughl to love the Bible and the 
truths it contains. 

8. If any of your little leaders feel tired of their 
lessons, I hope they will think of the " Sweep mul 
the Tombstones ," and I hope, also, that like him 
they will learn the best wisdom — "for the soul to 
be without knowledge is not good ;" but it is of 
very little use to he able to read and write, if they 



BENJAMIN BANNAKER. 219 

remain ignorant of Christ, or only repeal texts and 
chapters by rote. Then " incline thine ear unto 
wisdom, and apply thy heart to understanding ; 
if thou seekest for her as for hid treasures, then 
shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find 
the knowledge of God," Prov. ii. 2, 4, 5. 

Ann G . 



BENJAMIN BANNAKER, 

A neoro of Maryland, went to Philadelphia, and 
without any other encouragement than his desire 
tor acquiring knowledge — without books, except the 
works of Ferguson, and ihe table of Tobias Mayer, 
— he applied himself to astronomy, and published 
almanacs for the years 1794 and 1795, at Phila- 
delphia ; in which were calculated and exhibited 
the different aspects of the planets, a table of the 
motions of the sun and moon, their risings and 
settings, and the courses of the bodies of the plan- 
etary system. Bannakei has received his free- 
dom. 



220 TWO NEGROES IN PRANCE. 



TWO NEGROES IN FRANCE. 

In the most flourishing period of the reign of 
Louis XIV., two negro youths, the sons of a 
prince, being brought to the court of France, the 
king appointed a Jesuit to instruct them in letters 
a:id in the Christian religion ; and gave to each of 
ihem a commission in his guards. The elder, who 
was remarkable for candor and ingenuousness made 
great improvement, more particularly in the doc- 
trines of religion. 

2. A brutal officer, upon some dispute, insulted 
him with a blow. The gallant youth never so 
much as offered to resent it. A person who was 
his friend took an opportunity to talk with him that 
evening alone upon his behaviour, which he told 
him was too tame, especially in a soldier. " Is 
there then," said the young African, "one revela- 
tion for soldiers, and another for merchants and 
gownsmen ? The good father to whom I owe all 
my knowledge, has earnestly inculcated in me 
forgiveness of injuries ; assuring me that a Chris- 
tian was by no means to retaliate abuses of any 
kind." 

3. "The good father," replied his friend, "may 
fit you for a monastery, by his lessons, but never 
for the army and the rules of a court. In a word," 
continued he, " if you do not call the colonel to an 



TWO IsEGROES IN FRANCE. 221 

account, you will be branded with the infamy of 
cowardice, and have your commission taken from 
you." " I would fain," said the young man, " act 
consistently in every thing ; but since you press 
ine with that regard to my honor which you have 
always shown, I will wipe off so foul a stain; 
though I must own I gloried in it before." 

4. Immediately upon this, he desired his fri 

to go from him and appoint the aggressor to meel 
him early in the morning. Accordingly, they met 
and fought, and the brave African youth dis n 
his adversary, and forced him to ask his pardon 
publicly. This done, the next day he threw up his 
commission, and desired the king's have lo return 
to his father. 

5. At parting, he embraced his brother and his 
friends, with tears in his eyes, saym<: il.it he iiad 
not imagined Christians to be so unaccountable a 
people; that, he could not apprehend their faith 
could be of any use to them, if it did not influence 
their practice ; and that in his country, they thought 
it no dishonor to act according to the principles of 
their religion. 

19* 



222 UNCI.E MARRY. 



UNCLE HARRY. 

FROM THE LITERARY AND EVANGELICAL MAGAZINE, 

1S24. 

Late in the last autumn, it was my privilege, 
(savs the author,) to spend a few hours in the hos- 
pitable mansion of the Rev. S. B. W., of F. I ar- 
rived at his house very early in the morning — just 
before the family assembled to perform their cus- 
tomary devotions. On the signal being given, the 
children and domestics came into the room where 
wc were silting. 

2. Among the latter, there was a very aged 
black man, whom every one called Uncle Harry. 
As soon as he entered, I observed that Mr. W. and 
his lady treated him with marked attention and 
k.iidness. The morning was sharp and frosty, and 
I nrle Harry had a chair in the corner, close to the 
fire. 

3. The portion of Scripture selected for the ser- 
vice was the second chapter of Luke. I observed 
that the attention of Harry was deeply fixed ; and 
he soon began to manifest strong emotions. The 
old man's eye kindled as the reader went on, and 
when lie came to the tenth verse, Harry appeared 
as though his heart was tuned to the angelic song, 
and he could hardly help uttering a shout of 
triumph. 



UNCLE HARRY. 223 

4. There was not, however, the smallest osten- 
tation of feeling, or endeavor to attract attention. 
He only, in a gentle manner, turned his face up- 
ward, strongly clasping his hands as they lay on 
his lap, and expressing by his countenance the joy 
of his heart. By this time, he had interested me so 
highly that I could not keep my eyes from him. 

5. I watched the varying expressions of his 
countenance, and saw that every word seemed to 
strike on his heart, and produce a corresponding 
emotion. I thought I would give the world, if I 
could read the Bible, just as Harry heard it. 
While I was thinking, and looking on with intense 
interest, the reader came to the passage where old 
Simeon saw the infant Saviour, took him in his 
arms, blessed God, and said, " Lord, now lettest 
thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes 
have seen thy salvation." 

6. Harry's emotion had become stronger and 
stronger, until the words just quoted were read, 
when he was completely overpowered. Suddenly 
turning on his seat, to hide as much as possible his 
feelings, he bent forward and burst into a flood of 
tears ; but they were tears of joy. He anticipated 
his speedy peaceful departure, and his final rest. 
This state of feeling continued during the remain- 
der of the service, and when we rose from our 
knees, Uncle Harry's face seemed literally to have 
been bathed in tears. 

7. As soon as we had risen, the old man came 



224 TNTLE HARKV. 

toward me with a countenance beaming with joy. 
"This," said Mr. W., addressing me, " is Uncle 
Harry." He reached out his hand and said, " O ! 
why did my God bring me here to-day, to hear 
what I have heard, and see this salvation ?" I ask- 
ed, " Are, you us ready to depart, Uncle Harry, as 
good old Simeon was, of whom we read in this 
chapter ?" I shall never forget his hick of humble, 
joyful submission, when he replied, u Just when it 
shall please my blessed Lord and Master." " You 
hope to go to heaven ?" "Through divine raerey, 
I do." " What is the foundation of that hope '" 
" The righteousness of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ." 

8. On perceiving that I wished to converse with 
the old man, Mi. W. said, with a kindness which 
showed that he recogni-< ,1 Harry as a Christian 
brother, and respected his age, " Come, take your 
seat again, Uncle llarrv. and sit i\p near the lire" 
Jlc accepted the invitation, and I entered into con- 
versation, winch afforded m< higher pleasure than 
I ever enjoyed in the circles of fashion, beauty, 
wit, and learning. I here send you some of the 
most interesting particulars. 

9. " How old are you, Uncle llarrv V " Why, 
as nigh as I can tell, I am eighty-nine or thereabout." 
"Where were you born?" '"At Port Tobacco, in 
Maryland." " And who had you to preach the. 
gospel to you there ?" " Ah ! we had no preacher 
of the gospel there at that time." " Then it was 



UNCLE HARRY. 225 

after you left Port Tobacco, that you embraced 
religion, was it ?" " No, sir, it was while I lived 
there, and I will tell you how it was : A great 
many years ago, there was one Dr. Whitefield, 
that travelled all through this country, preaching 
the gospel every where — I dare say you have 
heard of Dr. "Whitefield ; he was a most powerful 
preacher. 

10. "Well, as I was saying, he went through 
Maryland ; but his place of preaching was so far 
off, that I did not hear of it until he was gone. But 
not long afterward, I met a man, an acquaintance of 
mine, who did hear him. He told me about the 
sermon ; and what I heard opened my eyes to see 
that I was a poor lost sinner ; and ever since that 
time, I have been determined to seek Jesus as my 
Saviour, and to spend my life in his service." 

11. Happy Whitefield! thought I, and greatly 
honored of thy Master, who has used thee as his 
instrument in saving so many souls. " But," said 
I, " how old were you then ?" " Why, as nigh as 
I can guess, I was somewhere about sixteen or 
seventeen years old." " And have you never re- 
pented of this resolution ?" " No, indeed, master ; 
I have never repented of any thing, but that I have 
served my blessed Saviour so poorly." 

12. " But have you not met many trials and 
difficulties by the way ?" " Yes, indeed, master : 
but out of them all the Lord has delivered me ; and 
having obtained help of God, I continue to this 



226 1 NCLE HARRY. 

day : blessed be his name ; he never will leave me 
or forsake me ; 1 have good hope ol that." 

13. " Well, how did you obtain religious in- 
struction where you lived, as you say there was no 
preacher of the gospel in the neighborhood ?" 
" Why, by the mercy of my God, 1 learned to read 
the Bible ; and that showed me the way to Jesus. 
But now I think of it : when the Roman Catholics 
heard that 1 was concerned about my suiil, they 
sent for me, and tried hard to get me to join them. 

4. " There was a priest at Port Tobacco, whose 
name was Mr. O'Neal ; he talked to me a great 
deal. I remember he said to me one day, ' Harry, 
now you are concerned about your soul, you must 
come and join the Catholic church.'' ' What for,' 
said I, 'Mr. O'Neal?' 'Because,' said he, 'it is 
the true church.' 'Then,' said I, 'if the Catholic 
church will lead me to Jesus, 1 will join it with 
all my heart, for that is all 1 want ;' and Mr. 
O'Neal said, ' If you will join the church, I will 
warrant that you shall go to heaven.' 'How can 
you do that, Mr. O'Neal !' said I. 

15. " Then he told me that a great many years 
ago, OUT Saviour came into the world, and he ehose 
twelve apostles, and made St. Peter their head ; 
and the pope succeeded St. Peter ; and so all that 
join the pope, belong to the true church. l Then,' 
said I, ' why how do you know that. Mr. O'Neal ?' 
'Because,' said he, 'our Saviour told Peter, I give 
you the keys of the kingdom of heaven ; and what- 



UNCLE HARRY. 227 

soever you bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven, 
and whatsoever you loose on earth, shall be loosed 
in heaven.' 

16. " And I said, ' The Lord knows how it is, 
Mr. O'Neal ; I am a poor ignorant creature, but it 
always did seem to rue, that Peter was nothing but 
a man like the other apostles ;' but Mr. O'Neal 
said, ' No, he was the head and chief of the apos- 
tles ; for our Saviour said again, Thou art Peter, 
and on this rock I will build my church ; and the 
gates of hell shall not prevail against it.' And I 
asked him, ' Now, do you think Peter was that 
rock, Mr. ( >'Ncal V He answered, ' To be sure 
lie was ;' and I said again, ' The Lord knows how 
it is ; but it never did seem so to me. 

17. " ' Now I think it was just so : — when Peter 
said, Thou art ihe Christ, the Son of the living 
God, our Saviour told him, Thou art Peter' " (while 
the old man repeated the words, Thou art Peter, 
he pointed his finger at me, and looked me directly 
in the face, but as soon as he be^an the following 
part of the quotation, he brought his hand briskly 
down to his knee, saying with emphasis, as he 
looked at himself,) "'and upon this rock will I 
build my church ; and that rock was Christ ; for it 
is written in another place, Behold, I lay in Zion 
a chief corner stone, elect, precious ; and he that 
bclieveth on him shall not be confounded ; and 
that corner stone is Christ.' 

19. "Then Mr. O'Neal said to me, ' Why, Harry, 



228 UNCLE HARRY. 

where did you learn all that ?' I said, ' From my 
Bible.' ' O !' said lie, ' you have no business with 
the Bible ; it will confuse and frustrate you.' But 
I said, ' It tells me of my Saviour.' Then, a gen- 
tleman who was sitting by, said, ' O ! you might 
as well let him alone, Mr. O'Neal; you cannot 
make any tiling of him ;' and from that time, I 
never had any desire to join the Roman Catholics." 

19. The narrative, of the truth of which, I 
could not entertain a moment's doubt, showed a 
promptness of reply, and an acquaintance with the 
Scriptures, which truly surprised me, and I re- 
marked, " I suppose, Uncle Harry, you take great 
pleasure in reading the Bible?" "Ah, master! 
when 1 could read, it was the pleasure of my life. 
But I am old now : and my book is so rubbed that 
the print is dim, and I can scarcely make out to 
read a word." 

20. On this, Mr. W. said, " Well, Uncle Harry, 
you shall have, a new Bible. Do you call on 

JVI r . , when you go down town, and lie will 

give you a new one from the Bible Society." Har- 
ry bowed, and expressed gratitude for the kind- 
ness, but did not manifest as much pleasure as 
I expected, considering how highly he professed 
to value the Bible. While I was wondering, and 
rather sorrowing on the account, I observed the 
old man to be feeling, with an air of embarrass- 
ment, in his pocket. 

21. At length, he nulled out an old tattered 



UNCLE HARRY- 229 

case, which appeared to have been long in use, 
and observed, " This new Bible will not be of 
much use to me, because my spectacles are so 
bad, that they help me very little in reading." 
With that he opened his case, and showed a pair 
of spectacles of the cheapest sort, of which one 
glass was broken, and the other so scratched, that 
it was wonderful that lie could see through it 
at all. 

22. Mr. W. no sooner observed this, than he 
said, " Well, Uncle Harry, you must have a new 

pair ; do call at Mr. 's store, and tell him to 

let you have a pair suited to your age, and I will 
settle with him about it." On hearing this, Har- 
ry's eyes gleamed with joy, and he exclaimed, 
"Thank God! God bless you, master ! Now I 
shall have comfort again in reading the Bible." 
And I never saw a happier, or a more grateful 
countenance. 

23. Presently, he said the wagon would soon 
call for him, to take him home, and he must go 
down town, and be getting ready : on which he 
again thanked his kind friend, and invoked a bless- 
ing on him and his family. He then, affection- 
ately and respectfully, took me by the hand, and 
said, " I never saw you before, and I never shall 
see you again in this world ; but I love you as a 
minister of my blessed Lord and Master, and I 
hope that I shall meet you in the house above. 

Remember and pray for poor old Harry." 

20 



230 UNCLE HARRY 

24. I squeezed his hand, and assured him of 
my affectionate remembrance, and requested that 
he would pray for me, and for the preachers of 
the gospel generally. " !* said he, " may God 
Almighty bless all the dear ministers of Christ, 
and enable them to call many poor sinners to the 
dear Saviour ! O ! I do love to hear of souls' com 
ing to Christ ; and it is my daily prayer. Thy 
kingdom come, and thy will be done on earth, as 
it is done in heaven !" With that the old man took 
leave. 

25. I confess that I have ofien since wished to 
sec him and hold communion with him. There 
was about him, a spirit of piety and benevolence, 
of humble zeal and fervent hope, of meekness and 
submission, which I have rarely seen equalled. 
At the same lime, there was a degree of intelli- 
gence, and an extent of religious knowledge, which, 
in his condition, really surprised and delighted me. 

26. I saw here one of the triumphs of divine 
grace. I was made to appreciate t lie value and 
the excellence of that religion which could take a 
poor slave, and so transform him, that he was well 
nigh fitted to be a companion of saints in light 
and of just men made perfect. And since 1 saw 
him, 1 have often prayed, that after the days of my 
wandering shall In- over, and all the sufferings of 
my life shall be endured, I may obtain a share in 
the rest, and a lot in the inheritance, which I have 
no doubt are prepared foT I nele Harry. 



DESCRIPTION OF WASHINGTON. 231 



CULLY'S DESCRIPTION OF WASHINGTON 
AT THE TIME OF HIS MARRIAGE. 

" And so yovi remember when Colonel Wash- 
ington came a courting your mistress?" said the 
biographer to old Cully in his hundredth year. 
" Ay, master, that I do," replied this ancient fam- 
ily servant, who had lived to see five generations. 
" Great times, sir ! great times ! Shall never see 
the like again !" " And Washington looked some- 
thing like a man, a proper man — hey, Cully?" 
" Never seed the like, sir — never the likes of him, 
though I have seen many in my day — so tall, so 
straight ! and then he sat on a horse and rode with 
such an air ! Ah, sir, lie was like no one else ! 
Many of the grandest gentlemen, in their gold 
lace, were at. the wedding, but none looked like 
the man himself." 

2. Strong, indeed, must have been the impres- 
sion which the person and manner of Washington 
made upon the rude, untutored, yet susceptible 
mind of this poor negro, since the lapse of three 
quarters of a century had not sufficed to efface 
them. Does not this statement fully acknowledge 
the capacity and retentive faculties of an African ? 



COLORED POPULATION' 



COLORED POPULATION IN PHILADELPHIA. 

FROM THE NATIONAL INQUIRER. 

A philanthropic gentleman of the South, ap- 
plied to us a short time since, for a statement of 
the condition of the colored people of this city. 
His object was to ascertain whether the reports, 
industriously circulated by the enemies of emanci- 
pation, respecting the extreme degradation and 
pauperism of this class of our population, were 
true or false. From personal observation, when 
he had been on a short visit to this place, he was 
strongly inclined to doubt the truth of the reports 
in question. 

2. In obedience to the request of this gentle- 
man, we immediately proceeded to make inquiry, 
and procured such information for him as the na- 
ture of the circumstances, and the short time al- 
lowed, would permit. Uthough the inquiry was 
very limited, extending to but two districts for 
most of the particulars, we trust it will throw some 
light upon an important subject, and undeceive the 
public, measurably at least, in relation to it. The 
principal topics sabmitted for investigation were 
embraced in Bundry emeries, propounded by the 
gentleman aforesaid. 

3. 1st Query. — "What is the amount of the 
free colored population of Philadelphia?" The 



IN PHILADELPHIA. 233 

district of Southwark contains 921 men, 1,045 
women, 635 boys, 674 girls ; total, 3,275. The 
district of Northern Liberties contains 276 men, 
318 women, 265 boys, 371 girls; total, 1,230: 
4,505 in all. Although this does not include the 
whole city, the greater portion of the colored pop- 
ulation is located within these divisions. 

4. 2d Query. — " What proportion is able to 
read?" In Southwark, 858, Northern Liberties, 
172 ; these are adults : a nearly equal number of 
children, say 970, can read : total, 2,000. In these 
districts there are many more poor and ignorant 
persons than in the other parts of the city, propor- 
tionally. 

5. 3d Query. — " What proportion is acquainted 
with the other elements of common education ?" 
In the Northern Liberties only, information has 
been obtained. It appears that 92 of their num- 
ber, in that district, can write. We have no ac- 
count of their proficiency in other branches of ed- 
ucation, but we have been informed by teachers, 
that the blacks are as apt in learning arithmetic, 
&c, as the whites. 

6. 4th Query. — " How many schools, and what 
number under instruction V We have no esti- 
mate of the number of common schools. There 
are six Sunday schools in the city. The number 
under instruction cannot at present be ascertained. 
But they suffer much inconvenience in this re- 
spect from the prejudice against their color. 

20- 



234 COLORED POPULATION 

7. 5th Querv. — " How many churches of each 
denomination?"' In the whole city, there are six 
Methodist churches, two Presbyterian, three Bap- 
tist, one Episcopal, one Lutheran, and two public 
halls. 

8. 6lh Query. — " How manv actually, and how 
many comparatively with the white population, are 
paupers, and supported on public charity ?" From 
a paper, very carefully drawn up, and presented to 
the legislature in 1832, we collect the following- 
facts. In the year 1830, it appears that out of 
549 out-door poor, relieved during the year, only 
22 were persons of color. Tiie colored paupers 
admitted into the alms-house for the same period, 
did not exceed four per cent, of the whole number. 
The amount of taxes paid by them could not be 
fairly ascertained ; but from imperfect returns, it 
appears that they pay not less than 2,500 dollars 
annually ; while the sum expended for the relief 
of their pour, out of the public funds, has rarely, 
if ever, exceeded 2,000 dollars a year. The 
amount of rents paid by them is found to exceed 
100,000 dollars annually. 

9. 7th Query. — "How many actually, ;md how 
many comparatively, arc in criminal institutions ?" 
We have not been able to obtain official informa- 
tion on this point; but we learn, generally, that 
for crimes of magnitude, their proportion is very 
small ; while in cases of petit larceny, they fall a 



IN PHILADELPHIA. 235 

little below the whites in the scale of moral virtue. 
One fact, however, in their favor, is worthy of con- 
sideration, viz., many of the colored " criminals" 
are among the youth, who are shut out of the 
House of Refuge, to which the whites have ac- 
cess. Very few of the former are admitted, on 
account of the prejudice against their color. 

10. 8th Query. — " How many religious, chari- 
table, and literary institutions are supported by the 
colored people?" The religious establishments 
supported by them are enumerated in the answer 
to the fifth query. They have more than sixty 
beneficent societies, some of which are incorpo- 
rated, for mutual aid in time of sickness and dis- 
tress. The members of these societies are bound 
by rules and regulations, which tend to promote 
industry and morality among them. Each one 
pays into the treasury, weekly or monthly, a stip- 
ulated sum. 

11. They expend annually, for the relief of 
their sick and distressed, more than 9,000 dollars 
out of funds raised by themselves for mutual aid. 
Some of these associations number from fifty to 
one hundred members each, not one of whom has 
ever been convicted of crime, in any of the courts. 
Besides the institutions above mentioned, they 
have two tract societies, two Bible societies, two 
temperance societies, two female literary institu- 
tions, one moral reform society, and one library 



236 FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR. 

company. Their public properly, (mostly appro- 
priated to religious uses,) is estimated at the value 
of more than 200,000 dollars. 

12. In addition to the foregoing, it may be pro- 
per to remark, that many of the colored people 
have, by their labor and economy, acquired prop- 
erty, and become freeholders. Their real estate 
in the city, (belonging to individuals,) is supposed 
to be worth at least a million of dollars. It is 
known that more than 600, and it is believed that 
upward of 1,000 colored persons in the city and 
suburbs, follow mechanical employments, many of 
whom are acknowledged as superior workmen. 



FREE TEOPLE OF COLOR. 

FROM THE PHILANTHROPIST. 

"The free people of color," were pronounced 
by Mr. OViy, some years ago, to be, "of all de- 
scriptions of our population, and of cither portion 
of the African race, as a class, by far the most 
corrupt, depraved, and abandoned." Let us now 
attend to some of the facts which are beginning to 
be ascertained, and to be published for the correc- 
tion of this error. 

2. Then- were, by the last census, nearly 5,000 
free people of color in Kentucky. The senior 



FREE PEOPLE OF COLOP. 237 

editor of this paper has made extensive inquiry as 
to the state of pauperism among them, as indi- 
cated by the records of the county courts. He 
heard of but one, an old* woman in Jassamine 
county, who was on the pauper list, and was sup- 
ported from the public funds. 

3. In the Southampton insurrection, there was 
not a single free colored person implicated in the 
remotest degree, yet were hundreds of them, re- 
siding in that county, compelled, by the cruelties 
and abuse which they suffered from the neighbor- 
ing whites, to emigrate immediately afterward to 
Western Africa. 

4. Mr. Gayarre, a member of the Louisiana 
legislature in 1834, uses this language concerning 
the colored population in that state, in a report 
which he submitted to that body : — " It has been 
said, that, in the colored population of Louisiana, 
a few respectable individuals could be found. 
Justice, perhaps, would have required the confes- 
sion, that the many were respectable, and the few 
depraved ; the many are sober and industrious me- 
chanics, quiet and useful citizens, who are suscep- 
tible of noble sentiments and virtues. This hom- 
age is due to them, and your committee pays it 
with pleasure," &c. 

5. In Philadelphia, so far from burdening the 
whites with the support of their paupers, their 
city taxes, over and above the support of their 
own poor, furnish funds for the support of ichite 



238 FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR. 

paupers. One of the wealthiest mechanics in that 
city, if not in the nation, is a colored man. 

6. The following resolutions were passed lately 
at a meeting of those people in that ciiy : — 

" Resolved, That it is the sincere wish of this 
Society, that, as our young people of both sexes 
have, for the most part, both the opportunity and 
the power, they should earnestly and strenuously 
exert themselves in their leisure hours, especially 
during long winter evening?, in supplying the de- 
ficiencies of an early and irregular education, and 
thereby qualify themselves for extended usefulness 
in the circles in which they move." 

7. Wearing mourning apparel, fyc. — " Where- 
as, the time-honored custom of wearing mourning 
apparel for the dead, being frequently attended 
with much inconvenience, and always with unne- 
cessary expense; and whereas, the money which 
the poor of our people are obliged to spend in this 
way, in conformity with the tyranny of fashion, 
might be applied to purposes of substantial utility ; 
therefore, be it Resolved, That from motives of 
economy alone, if from no other, this practice 
should be abolished among our people. 

8. " Resolved, That ;his society earnestly recom- 
mend to teachers of youth, to instil into the minds 
of their juvenile charge, the love of truth, princi- 
ples of rigid honesty, habits of sobriety and indus- 
try, a Bacred regard for the Sabbath day and the 
injunctions of Christianity; and thus prospective- 



FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR. 239 

ly to prepare them to fill up, honorably and reli- 
giously, the stations they may be called upon to 
occupy. 

9. " While such a course of instruction cannot 
but result in positive benefits to the rising genera- 
tion, it will procure for us the favorable considera- 
tion of the intelligent and the magnanimous, and, 
what is incomparably more valuable, the favor and 
protection of Him who is mighty to save and strong . 
to deliver." 

10. On peace and temperance. — "Resolved, 
That the principles of peace and non-resistance 
ought to be practised under all circumstances, by 
every lover of religion and good order ; That we 
recommend to our temperance societies, to adopt 
the principle of total abstinence from all intoxica- 
ting liquors, as the only safe remedy against drunk- 
enness." 



240 CINCINNATI. 



CINCINNATI. 

FROM THE EMANCIPATOR. 

The colored people in Cincinnati have three 
churches, two Methodist and one Baptist, number- 
ing about 450 members. They have four Sab- 
bath schools, each with a small library, and three 
Bible classes. A female benevolent society has 
been organized, with forty members. Their meet- 
ings are held regularly, and the time spent in work- 
ing for the poor. A society for the relief of per- 
sons in distress, called the " Cincinnati Union So- 
ciety," also numbers about one hundred male mem- 
bers. Its contributions are about 250 dollars an- 
nually. 

2. Another similar institution likewise exists in 
the city with about thirty members. They have 
also a temperance Bociety, on ihe principle of total 
abstinence, with about 280 members. According 
to a statement of the whole colored population of 
Cincinnati, 1,129 have been in slavery; 476 have 
purchased themselves, at the total expense of 
215,522 dollars and 4 cents, averaging for each 
452 dollars and 77 cents. 

> .Abridged from " The Friend." 



THE HAPPY NEGRO. 241 



THE HAPPY NEGRO. 

Some years ago an English gentlemen had oc- 
casion to visit North America, where the follow- 
ing circumstance occurred, which is thus related, 
in his own words : " Every day's observation con- 
vinces me, that the children of God are made so 
by his own especial grace ; and that all means are 
equally effectual with him, whenever he is pleased 
to employ them for conversion. 

2. " In one of my excursions, while I was in 
the state of New York, I was walking by myself 
over a considerable plantation, amused with its 
husbandry, and comparing it with that of my own 
country, till I came within a little distance of a 
middle-aged negro, who was tilling the ground. 
I felt a strong inclination, unusual with me, to 
converse with him. After asking him some little 
questions about his work, which he answered in a 
sensible manner, I asked him to tell me whether 
his state of slavery was not disagreeable to him, 
and whether he would not gladly be at liberty. 

3. " ' Massa,' said he, looking seriously upon 
me, 'T have a wife and children; my massa take 
care of them, and T have no care to provide any 
thing. 1 haw a good mas.-n, who teaches me to 
read; and Tread good book, that makes me hap- 
py.' ' T am fflad,' replied T, 'to hear vou say so ; 

21 



242 THL HAPPY NEGRO. 

and pray what is the good book you read ?' ' Tlic 
Bible, massa — God's own book.' 'Do you under- 
stand, friend, as well as read this book ? — for many 
can read the words well, who cannot get hold of 
the true and good sense.' 

4. " ' massa,' said he, ' I read the book much 
before I understand ; but, at last, I felt pain in my 
heart ; I found things in the book that cut me to 
pieces.' ' Ah !' said I, ' and what things were they V 
' Why, massa, I found that 1 had bad heart, mas- 
sa — a very bad heart indeed ; I felt pain that God 
would destroy me, because I was wicked, and 
done nothing as I should do. God was holy, and 
I was very vile and naughty ; I could have no- 
thing from him but fire and brimstone in hell.' 

5. " In short, he entered into a full account of 
his convictions of sin, which were indeed as deep 
and piercing as almost any I had ever heard of; 
and what .scriptures came to his mind, winch he 
had read, that both probed to the bottom v( bis sin- 
ful heart, and were made the means of light and 
comfort to his soul. I then inquired of him what 
ministry or means he made \ise of, and found that 
his master was a plain sort of man, who had taught 
his slaves to read, but who had not conversed with 
this negro upon the state of his soul. 

6. " I asked him, likewise, how lie got comfort 
under all this trial. ( massa,' said he, 'it was 
Christ gave me comfort by his dear word. He 



THE HAPPY NEGRO. 243 

bade me come unto him, and he would give me 
rest, for I was very weary and heavy laden.' And 
here he repeated a number of the most precious 
texts in the Bible, showing, by his artless com- 
ment upon them, as he went along, what great 
things God had done in the course of some vears 
for his soul. 

7. " Being rather more acquainted with doctri 
nal truths, and the Bible, than he had been, or in 
his situation could easily be, I had a mind to try 
how far a simple experience, graciously given 
without the usual means, could preserve a man 
from error ; and I therefore asked him several 
questions about the merit of works, the justifica- 
tion of a sinner, the power of grace, and the like. 
I own I was as much astonished at, as I admired 
the sweet spirit and simplicity of his answers, 
with the heavenly wisdom that God had put into 
the mind of this negro. 

8. " His discourse, flowing merely from the 
richness of grace, with a tenderness and expres- 
sion far ' beyond the reach of art,' perfectly charmed 
me. On the other hand, my entering into all his 
feelings, together with an account to him, which he 
had never heard before, that thus and thus the 
Lord, in his mercy, dealt with all his children, and 
had dealt with me, drew streams of joyful tears 
down his black face, and we looked upon each 
other, and talked with that inexpressible glow of 



244 THE HAPPY NECR0. 

Christian affection, that made rue more than ever 
believe, what I have often too thoughtlessly pro- 
fessed to believe, the communion of suinis. 

9. " I shall never forget how the poor creature 
seemed to hang upon my lips, and to eat my very 
words, when I enlarged upon the love of Christ to 
poor sinners, the free bounty and tender mercy of 
God, the frequent and delightful sense he gives of 
his presence, the faith he bestows in his promises, 
the victories this faith is enabled to get over trials 
and temptations, the joy and peace in believing, 
the hope in life and death, and the glorious expec- 
tation of immortality. To have seen his eager, 
delighted, animated air and manner, would have 
cheered and armed any Christian's heart, and have 
been a masterpiece for any painter. 

10. "He had never heard such discourse, nor 
found the opportunity of hearing it before. He 
seemed like a man who had been thrown into a 
new world, and at length had found company. 
Though the conversation lasted, at least, two or 
three hours, I scarcely ever enjoyed the happy 
swiftness of lime so sweetly in all my life. W« 
knew not how to part. He would accompany me 
as far as he might ; and I felt, on my side, such a 
delight in the artless, solid, unaffected experience 
of this pious soul, that I would have been glad to 
have seen him oftener then, or to see his like at 
any time now ; but my situation rendered it im- 
possible. 



THE HAPPY NEGRO. 245 

11. "I therefore took an affectionate leave, with 
feelings equal to those of the warmest and most 
ancient friendship ; telling him, that neither the 
color of his body, nor the condition of his present 
life, could prevent him from being my dear brother 
in our dear Saviour ; and that though we must 
part now, never to see each other again in this 
world, I had no doubt of our having another joy- 
ful meeting in our Father's home, where we should 
live together, and love each other, throughout a 
long and happy eternity. ' Amen, amen, dear 
massa ; God bless you and poor me too, for ever 
and ever.' 

12. "If I had been an angel from heaven, he 
could not have received me with more evident de- 
light than he did ; nor could I have considered him 
with a more sympathetic regard, if he had been a 
long-known Christian of the good old sort, grown ' 
up into my affections in the course of many years.' 



21* 



246 THE HOSPITABLE 



THE HOSPITABLE NEGRO WOMAN. 

The enterprising traveller, Mungo Park, was 
employed by the African Association, to explore 
the interior regions of Africa. In this hazardous 
undertaking, he encountered many dangers and 
difficulties. His wants were often supplied, a 
his distresses alleviated, by the kindness and com- 
passion of the negroes. He gives the follow; 
lively and interesting account of the bospita 
treatment he received from a poor negro woman. 

2. " Being arrived at Sego, the capital of the 
kingdom of Bambarra, situated on the banks of 
the Niger, I wished to pass over to that part of the 
town in which the king resides ; but from the num- 
ber of persons eager to obtain a passage, 1 v. 
under the necessity of waiting two hours. During 
this time, the people who had crossed the river, 

* 

carried information to Mansong, the king, thai a 
white man was waiting for ;i pass ge, and was 
coming over to see him. 

3. " He immediately sent over one of his chief 
men, who informed me, thai the king could not 
possibly see me, until he knew what had brought 
me into his country, and that I must not presume 
to cross the river, without the king's permission. 
He therefore advised me to lodge, for that night, in 
a distant village, to which he pointed, and said 



NEGRO WOMAN. 247 

that, in the morning, he would give me further in- 
struction how to conduct myself. This was very 
discouraging. However, as there was no remedy, 
I set off for the village ; where I found, to my 
great mortification, that no person would admit me 
into his house. 

4. "From prejudices infused into their mind-. 1 
was regarded with astonishment and fear; and I 
was obliged to sit the whole clay without victu lis 
in the shade of a tree. The night threati ne 

be very uncomfortable ; the wind rose, and there 
was great appearance of a heavy rain. The wild 
beasts too were so numerous in the neighborhood, 
that I should have been under the necessity of 
climbing up the tree, and resting among the 
branches. 

5. "About sunset, however, as I was preparing 
to pass the night in this manner, and had timed 
my horse loose, that he might graze at liberty ; a 
negro woman, returning from the labors of the 
field, stopped to observe me; and perceiving that 
I was weary and dejected, she inquired into my 
situation. I briefly explained it to her ; after which, 
with looks of great compassion, she I jok up my 
saddle and bridle, and told me to follow her. 
Having conducted me into her hut, she lighted a 
lamp, spread a mat on the floor, and told me I 
might remain there for the night. 

G. " Finding I was very hungry, she went out 
to procure me something to eat ; and returned, in a 



213 THE HOSPITABLE 

short time, with a very line fish, which, having 
caused it to be half broiled upon some embers, 
she gave me for supper. The rites of hospitality 
being thus performed toward a stranger in distress, 
mv worthy benefactress (pointing to the mat, and 
telling me I might sleep there without apprehen- 
sion') called to the female part of her family, who 
had stood gazing on me all the while in fixed as- 
tonishment, to resume their task of spinning cot- 
ton ; in which they continued to employ themselves 
a creat part of the night. 

7. "They lightened their labor by songs, one ot 
which was composed extempore; for I was myself 
the subject of it. It was sung by one of the young 
women, the rest joining in a sort of chorus. The 
air was sweet and plaintive, and the words, lit- 
erally translated, were these : — ' The winds roared, 
and the rain fell. The poor white man, faint 
and weary, came and sat under our tree. He has 
no mother to bring him milk, no wife to grind his 
corn.' (lion's. ' Let us pity the white man; no 
mother has he to bring him milk; no wife to 
grind his corn.'* 

♦ These simple and affecting sentiments, have been very beauti- 
fully versified. 

1. The loud wind ronr'd, the rain fell fast , 
The white man yielded to the blast. 
He - 1' linn down beneath the tree, 
For weary, Bad, and faint was he: 
And ah! no wife's or mother's care, 
For him the milk or corn prepare. 



NEGRO WOMAN. 249 

8. "Trifling as these events may appear to the 
reader, they were to mc affecting in the highest 
degree. I was oppressed by such unexpected 
kindness ; and sleep fled from my eyes. In the 
morning, I presented to my compassionate landlady 
two of the four brass buttons which remained on 
my waistcoat ; the only recompense it was in my 
power to make her." 

CHOBUS. 

The white man shall our pity share, — 
Alas ! no wife's or mother's care, 
For him the milk or corn prepare. 

2. The storm is o'er, the tempest past, 
And Mercy's voi^e has hush'd the blast; 
The wind is heard in whispers low, 
The white man far away must go; 
But ever in his heart will bear, 
Remembrance of the negro's care. 

CHORUS. 

Go, white man, go ; but with thee bear 
The negro's wish, the negro's prayer 
Remembrance of the negro's care. 



2/30 EMANCIPATION IN 



EMANCIPATION IN THE WEST INDIES. 

The following extracts from a letter written in 
the West Indies, may show the salutary effects of 
emancipation in the British islands. Its date is 
Sept. 20th, 1836. "I am highly gratified to wit- 
ness the course you are pursuing in regard to that 
overwhelming curse of our country, slurry:/. In 
the providence of God, I have been placed in cir- 
cum stances to know what slavery is, and has been, 
in the West Indies, and daily note to see and feel 
what emancipation is. 

2. "I went to Trinidad in November, 1831 : I 
had learned at home, of the persevering opposition 
which emancipation had met in these islands, and 
1 naturally supposed it would be necessary to be 
guarded in my remarks about it. I therefore kept 
very still, thinking that perhaps even a few words 
might occasion a tumult, as I had been taught to 
believe that the liberated negroes only wanted an 
occasion to rise and murder all the whites. 

3. " I very soon found that no alarm was felt — 
people speaking as freely about emancipation as of 
any thing else. All the negroes appeared cheerful 
and harmless, and not seldom did I hear the re- 
mark, even from planters, that emancipation was a 
great blessing! The scales fell from my eyes ! 

1 .iid that all the predictions I had heard of mas- 



THE WEST INDIES. 231 

sacrcs, insurrections, &c, &c, were no better than 
nursery tales. Indeed, it was plain to be seen, that 
emancipation had been the very thing to take away, 
at once and for ever, all danger of violence on 
the part of the colored people. 

4. " I afterward visited Grenada and St. Vin- 
cent. The same may be said of them as of Trin- 
idad. I have resided on this island (Barbadoes) 
with the exception of a visit at home last winter, 
constantly since January, 1S35. The town con- 
tains — say 40,000 inhabitants, and the island 
130,000, of whom not more than 20,000 arc whites. 
On the, first of August, 1834, the number of slaves 
liberated was something more than SO, 000. 

5. " What a place for the exhibition of that fe- 
rocity which we are told exists in the breast of 
the African ! Now I venture to declare, that since 
the first of August. 1834, there has not been the 
slightest popular disturbance, or even the rumor of 
one, in any part of the island. And this is not be- 
cause the blacks are oueraived. They are them- 
selves a pail of the island militia, and I declare it 
as my firm conviction, that, as a people, they are 
as orderly and as little inclined to violence, as any 
people on earth. 

6. " The general sentiment m this island, I be- 
lieve to be now as much in favor of emancipation, 
as three years ago it was opposed to it. It has 
done my heart good, to hear people of the highest 
standing here, and those who owned great num- 



252 EMANCIPATION IX 

bers of slaves, freely admit that their opposition to 
emancipation was all wrong; that it was one of 
the greatest blessing* that ever came upon the 
country ; and that nothing would induce them to 
return u> slavery. 

7. " When J read of the fears of the people in 
America, in regard to emancipation, of the preju- 
dice against color, and the way in which they de- 
clare against abolition, as something that is going 
to open the floodgates of war, disunion, &c, &c., 
my wonder is only second to that which I feel, 
when I reflect upon what was on're my own feel- 
ings upon these subjects. If all the opposers of 
abolition in the United States, including slave- 
holders themselves, could spend six months in any 
part of the British West Indies, abolition societies 
might dissolve themselves at once, — their occupa- 
tion would be gone." 

8. "The alarm which was felt in the West In- 
dies, as to a general depreciation of property and 
stagnation of busi i s, has proved quite ground- 
less. The islands have rurelv, if ever, been so 
prosperous as at present; and in this island, I 
think I may safely say, there have been more im- 
provements in building, agriculture, &c, in the 
last two years than in any t\\" preceding years. 
Den. Icily h; tV e the greatest comfort and happi- 
ness Increased^ education and religious knowledge 
been promoted, and public morals been greatly im- 
proved. 



THE WEST INDIES. 253 

9. " I fear I may weary you ; but, sir, when I 
look at this country, and witness the blessed 
changes which have been brought about by eman- 
cipation ; and when I contemplate my own coun- 
try, straining every nerve to maintain a system so 
fraught with evil as slavery, my heart is full. Sla- 
very in the West Indies, as every where else, has 
always stood in the way of the progress of Chris- 
tianity. Hence the continually repeated com- 
plaints against the missionaries in all the islands. 
Slavery and Christianity were pitted against each 
other, the one imploring secrecy and darkness, 
the other demanding light. 

10. "Mark now the difference. In the island, 
numerous parish churches, which have been in 
ruins since the hurricane of 1831, are rising from 
their ruins ; the Methodist missionaries are ex- 
tending their stations, and multiplying their preach- 
ers and assistants in every direction ; the Mora- 
vians have just finished a fine new chapel, in town ; 
and in short, the solicitude among owners of es- 
tates to have their laborers brought under the in- 
fluence of religion, is as evident as is the fact, that 
their safety and interest depend upon the moral 
character and religious improvement of those 
laborers. m 

11. "I might say much of the prodigious in- 
crease of schools. In this respect, the change is 
just what we should expect it to be — great and 

truly gratifying to every benevolent mind. Infant 

22 



254 EMANCIPATION I.V 

schools are about to be introduced in all the isl- 
ands ; and I am now boarding at a house with a 
gentleman who arrived from England, two weeks 
since, fully prepared with funds, and every other 
requisite, to build up free infant schools in all the 
islands. 

12. "I might go on to speak of marriages among 
the black and colored; of the observance of the 
Sabbath; of improvement in their dress; greater 
domestic comforts, &c. ; in regard to all which, 
the greatness of the change for the better, is, in 
this country, quite evident and undisputed, how- 
ever much the desolations which freedom has oc- 
casioned in the West Indies mav be mourned over 
by our American patriot* !" 

13. " You are doubtless aware that the colony 
of Demarara is comparatively new, and thai there 
is a great call for laborers to subdue and bring un- 
der cultivation, thai great and fertile territory. (I 

y here remark that Demarara was on all hands 
said to be entirely ruined by emancipation; but 
see how false the notion.) The same thing is now 
there taking place, that we in America have been 
always accustomed to see, viz., emigration from 
the old colonies to the new. 

II. "In this way. Demerara is to be supplied 
with an abundance of free laborers, and thereby 
immensely benefited ; a supply .>(' which, but for 
emancipation, she could never have obtained in any 
way short of a revival of the African slave trade. 



THE WEST INDIES. 255 

But that which I wish to have particularly re- 
marked is this : The legislature of St. Kitts, and 
more recently that of this island, has become 
alarmed at the number of emigrants that are leav- 
ing them, all of whom are black, and has passed 
various laws to restrain emigration, openly and 
avowedly for the purpose of keeping their laborers 
among themselves ! 

15. "The policy of these laws is condemned 
by many here, who contend that labor must be left 
to find its own market ; and a discussion is now 
actually going on in the newspapers, — one party 
insisting that there must be laws to check emigra- 
tion, and the other contending that the object may 
be more effectually accomplished by raising the 
wages, providing better houses for their laborers, 
&c. ; the whole dispute being hoic they shall best 
be able to keep among them their liberated slaves .'" 

16. "I spent last evening at an estate about 
four miles from town. It is one of the finest 
properties in the island, and the resident manager 
is reported to be one of the most skilful planters 
in the country. Such is the character of the es- 
tate, that when the French admiral visited the isl- 
and last year, the governor made a visit with him, 
for the especial purpose of showing him a speci- 
men of Barbadocs cultivation, and sugar manu- 
facture. 

17. " There are on the plantation two hundred 
and eighty apprentices, besides children, the whole 



25G EMANCIPATION IN 

number amounting lo four hundred and fifty. The 
conversation turned upon emancipation ; and, sir, I 
can assure you, it was enough to affect the stout- 
est heart, to hear the expressions of gratitude and 
satisfaction with which the new order of things 
was spoken cf. I believe this gentleman to have 
been always noted for kindness to his slaves, yet 
his language Avns to this effect : — 

18. "Pointing to ihe long arms of the cane- 
mill, he said, ' I rejoice that the power and the 
temptation to oppress those poor people is taken 
away- How many times, when the crop pressed, 
have I kept these arms flying till eight o'clock at 
night, when they ought to have been chained at 
six ! and how many times have I set them going 
at three in the morning, when I ought not to have 
done it until six ! and this taken out of the strength 
of these poor people ! In how many instances 
have I made myself miserable, by giving way to 
anger, and inflicting unjust punishment; whereas 
now we have the satisfaction of knowing that we 
cannot injure them if we would !' 

19. "As we walked along the noble gallery 
winch surrounds the house, he pointed to a large 
building, filled with lights, situated on a distant 
elevation, and observed, ' There is good work 
going on; there arc the Moravians with their 
schools for liberated slaves.' From all the mem- 
bers of the family, similar language was heard,, 
and especiall when they spoke of the comparat 



THE WEST INDIES. 257 

tivc comforts of living on an estate now, and during 
the existence of slavery. Now there is a feeling 
of perfect security, a sentiment of kindness with 
mutual good will ; whereas, formerly there was 
distrust and jealousy. 

20. " In regard to the industry of the people, 
the manager said that it was enough to sav, that 
the estate 'had never been in so high a state of 
cultivation as at present.' Now, sir, I believe you 
will fully agree with me, that this keeping them 
under is the very thing which occasions all the 
difficulty. Kick a dog and he will snarl, and per- 
haps bite you ; speak kindly to him, and he is your 
friend. 

21. " My store is situated on the wharf, amid a 
very dense population, swarming with black por- 
ters, boatmen. ;-ai!ors, &c. ; and these people are 
entitled to all the privileges, and possessed of all 
the rights of freedom that I am, or anv other white 
man. I deal with these people more or less every 
day. and I have been trying to recollect whether, 
in all my residence here, I have ever received an 
impudent word from one of them ; possibly I may 
have received such, but if I have, it has escaped 
mv memoi'-. 

22. " I have often said and felt it, that it is a 

privilege to live in this country a; this period; for 

it is to witness one of the noblest experiments 

ever attempted by man. I ought to say that no 

man is the author of it. It is the Lord's work, 

22* 



25S IMPORTANT PROJECT. 

and lie, I am confident, will carry it on to a glo- 
rious consummation. I trust the time is not far 
distant, when I shall, at home, openly do and say 
what I can, in behalf of my enslaved brethren in 

the United States." 



IMPORTANT PROJECT. 

FROM THE NEW YORK SPECTATOR. 

The march of the colonization cause in the 
South is onward. The corresponding secretary 
of the New York Colonization Society, has re- 
ceived a letter from the Rev. R. S. Finley, agent 
of the State Colonization Society of Mississippi, 
dated, Natchez, February 22d, 1637, informing 
him that the societies in the states of Mississippi 
and Louisiana, have each resolved to establish a 
colony on the coast of Africa, and that each soci- 
will expend twenty thousand dollars a year, 
for five years, in sustaining them : that the Missis- 
sippi Society has already purchased a suitable ter- 
ritory for that object, and it is supposed that a 
purchase lias also been made for the Louisiana 

ciety. 

2. Mr. Finley mentions, "We have nearly se- 
cured the sum of 20,000 dollars for the first year, 
in the Mississippi Society, and are confident of 



GRATITUDE IN A LIBERATED SLAVE. 259 

raising the same sum in Louisiana, as the enter- 
prise is popular in both states. We are preparing 
to send out an expedition to Africa soon after the 
1st of April; and Mr. Blodget, a gentleman of 
piety and learning, is appointed physician and su 
geon ; and there are about fifty emigrants at or 
near Natches, waiting for a passage to Liberia. 

3. " We also propose to open a large farm for 
the purpose of raising bread stuffs for the colony, 
and to develop the agricultural resources of the 
country, by cultivating, on an extensive scale, cot- 
ton, sugar, coffee, &c. We also propose to pur- 
chase one or more vessels, to run constantly be- 
tween New Orleans and the colony." 



GRATITUDE IN A LIBERATED SLAVE. 

Communicated by W. S., an aged and respectable citizen, who is 
yet living in New York, 5th mo. 1837. 

Some time in the year 1790, a member of the 
Manumission Society, residing on Golden Hill, 
(now called John-street,) in New York, observed, 
for a considerable time, his front porch to be 
scrubbed and sanded, every Seventhday morning 
before the family were up. He ordered a servant 
to watch, and ascertain to whom he was indebted 
for this singular mark of kindness 

2. At an early hour in the morning, a colored 



260 NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN 

woman was observed with her pail, brush, cloth, 
soap, and sand, carefully performing her accus- 
tomed task. The domestic who had been en the 
watch, followed her home, and requested to know 
her inducement for performing this service. Her 
reply was, " Massa got mc free, and I can do no 
less than scrub off the stoop." A gratitude so 
genuine and untainted, is rarely found among the 
most polished and refined minds. 



NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN STATES 
CONTRASTED. 

FROM "the friend." — 1S3G. 

Senator Preston, of South Carolina, s] 
several weeks last summer, in passing through the 
Northern States. From a recent address by him, 
at a public meeting of his fellow-. - of the 

South, the following has been published as an 1 \- 
tract. The contrast is drawn with a strength of 
coloring characteristic of the man, yet true to life. 
Surely, to a mind so intelligent as his, the real 
cause of the difference must have been present. 

2. Do away the blasting influence of slavery ; 
proclaim liberty to the bondman ; introduce free 
labor; and in the country wherein " nature has been 
so prodigal," in " the genial climate and fertile soil 



STATES CONTRASTED. 261 

of the South," " the industry and skill that have 
converted the inclement and barren hills of New 
England into a garden," may indeed " create almost 
a paradise." 

3. " No Southern man can journey (as I have 
done) through the Northern States, and witness 
the prosperity, the industry, the public spirit, 
which they exhibit, — the sedulous cultivation of 
all those arts by which life is made comfortable 
and respectable, — without feelings of deep sad- 
ness and shame, as he remembers his own neglect- 
ed and desolate home. There, no dwelling is to 
be seen abandoned, no farm uncultivated, no man 
idle, no waterfall even, unemployed. Every per- 
son, and every thing, performs a part toward the 
grand result, and the whole land is covered with 
fertile fields, with manufactories, and canals, and 
railroads, and public edifices, and towns and cities. 

4. " Along the route of the great New York 
canal, (that glorious monument to the glorious 
memory of De Witt Clinton,) a canal, a railroad, 
and a turnpike, are to be seen in the width of per- 
haps a hundred yards, each of them crowded with 
travellers or overflowing with commerce. Through- 
out their course, lands that before their construc- 
tion would scarcely command five dollars the acre, 
now sell for fifty, seventy-five, or a hundred. 
Passing along it, you see no space of three miles 
without a town or village, and you are never out of 
the sound of a church bell. 



262 NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN 

5. "We of the South are mistaken in the char- 
acter of these people, when we think of them only 
as pedlars of horn flints and bark nutmegs. Their 
energy and enterprise are directed to all objects, 
great and small, within their reach. At the fall of 
a scanty rivulet., they set up their little manufac- 
tory of wooden buttons or combs ; they plant a 
barren hillside with broom-corn, and make it into 
brooms at the bottom, and on the top they erect a 
windmill. Thus, at a single -pot, von may see 
the air, the earth, and the water, all at work for 
them. But at the same time, the ocean is whitened 
to its extremities with the sails of their ships, and 
the land is covered with their works of art and 
usefulness. 

6. •' Massachusetts is perhaps the most flourish- 
ing of the Northern States. Yet of natural pro- 
ductions she exports but two articles, granite and 
ice. Absolutely nothing but rock and ia ' Every 
thing else of her commerce, from whi< h she de- 
rives so much wealth, is artificial, the work of her 
own hands. All this is done in a region with a 
bleak climate and steril soil, bv the energy and in- 
telligence of the people. Each man knows that 
the public good is his individual advantage. 

7. " The number of railroads, and other modes 
of expeditious intercommunication, knits the whole 
country into a closelv compacted mass, through 
which the productions of commerce and of the 
press, the comforts of life and means of know! 



STATES CONTRASTED. 263 

edge, are universally diffused ; while the close in- 
tercourse of travel and business makes all men 
neighbors, ar.d promotes a common interest and 
common sympathy. In a community thus con- 
nected, a single flash of thought pervades the whole 
land almost as rapidly as thought itself can fly. 
The population becomes, as it were, a single set of 
muscles, animated by one heart, and directed by a 
common sensorium. 

8. " How different the condition of things in 
the South ! Here, the face of the country wears 
the aspect of premature old age and decay. No 
improvement is seen going on, nothing is done for 
posterity, no man thinks of any thing beyond the 
present moment. Our lands are yearly tasked to 
their utmost capacity of production, and when ex- 
hausted are abandoned for the youthful West. 

9. " Because nature has been prodigal to us, we 
seem to think it unnecessary to do anything for 
ourselves. The industry and skill that have con- 
verted the inclement and barren hills of New Eng- 
land into a garden, in the genial climate and fer- 
tile soil of the South, would create almost a par- 
adise. Our natural advantages are among the 
greatest with which Providence has blessed man- 
kind, but we lack the spirit to enjoy and improve 
them. The rich oil-, is beneath our feet, yet we 
dig not for it. The golden fruit hangs from the 
bough, and we lift not our hands to gather it." 



264 ENCOCRAGING FACTS. 



ENCOURAGING FACTS. 

FROM THE AFRICAN REPOSITORY. 

Thomas Higginbotham, of Amherst county, 
Virginia, who died in February last, left a will in 
which he directed that his slaves, about fifty in 
number, should all be free, provided they were 
willing to leave the state ; if not, that they should 
have the privilege of selecting owners among his 
brothers and sisters. 

2. A correspondence concerning them, has taken 
place between Thomas Higginbothani's executor, 
and the officers of the Colonization Society. A 
letter from the executor, dated the 23d of April, 
states, that all the servants, except one man, two 
women, and two children, have elected to accept 
their freedom, on the terms prescribed by the will. 
A farther communication on the subject is expected 
by the society. 

3. A gentleman in Buckingham countv in the 
same state, now deceased, left twentv-three slaves, 
with directions in his will, that they should be hired 
out until his debts were paid, and then be free. 
His debts have been paid, and application has been 
made on behalf of his executor to the Colonization 
Sociely, inquiring whether it will send them to 
Liberia, on certain terms which are stated. 

4. A gentleman in the neighborhood of Jones- 



A COLORED INFANT SCHOOL. 265 

borough, is willing to liberate four, perhaps five 
slaves, on condition of their going to Liberia, and 
the society has been applied to on the subject. 

5. A gentleman in Tennessee, noU long since 
died, possessed of twenty slaves, whom he manu- 
mitted by his will. His heirs contested this clause 
of the will, and it has been judicially decided, that 
the slaves should be free on condition of .their 
going to Liberia. 



A COLORED INFANT SCHOOL. 

FROM THE COLONIZATION HERALD. 

We had the pleasure of attending a most inter- 
esting examination of a colored infant school, a few 
days since, at the Musical Fund Hall, Philadelphia. 
Seldom have we witnessed a more lively or in- 
structive scene, — so delightfully impressed with 
the beauty and sublimity of Christian charily. 

2. Here were one hundred children, collected 
from the courts and alleys of a degraded and much 
neglected portion of our city, neatly clad, with 
smiling faces and orderly demeanor, answering 
with the greatest accuracy, questions on science, 
history, and religion, ami exhibiting, in their whole 
deportment, a singular specimen of early intellect- 
ual development and moral training. 

23 



266 I&ROUBA. 

3. And this was all ihe fruit of one man's be- 
neficence ! A single individual originated and ha? 
supported this school for four years and a half. 
Having committed its management to a board of 
four ladies, who generously superintend and con- 
duct its operations, he regularly discharges the 
bills of expenses as they are presented to him 
quarterly ; while, with true humility, he conceals 
his name from the public, and contemplates in se- 
cret the results of his charity. 



1RROUBA. 

Duballon gives the following account of a wo- 
man of color, in Jamaica, in 1n>-J : — 'Let us visit 
the old woman that has seen her hundredth year," 
says one of the company ; and we advanced to the 
door of a little hut, where an old ne i Sene- 

gal appeared, so enfeebled that she was bent for- 
ward and obliged to lean against the side of her 
hut, to receive the company assembled at the door; 
she was also dull of hearing, but her eye was still 
lively. 

2. Every thing around her showed thai she was 
destitute and suffering. She had scarcely rags 
enough tn cover her. and had nol tire sufficient to 
give warmth, at a season when the cold is sensibly 



IRROtBA. 267 

felt by the aged, and more particularly by those of 
her country- We found her boiling a little rice and 
water for her supper, for she did not receive that 
regular subsistence from her master, which her 
great age and former services required. She was 
besides alone and neglected ; her exhausted frame 
was more indebted to nature than to her master. 

3. The reader ought to know, that, independ- 
ently of her long service, this woman had formerly 
nourished, with her milk, two white children, 
whom she had seen arrive at complete growth, and 
whom she afterward followed to the tomb ; and 
these were the brothers of one of the masters then 
present. The old woman perceived him and call- 
ed him by name ; she spoke with an air of kind- 
ness truly affecting, and said, " When wilt thou 
repair the roof of my hut ?" 

4. It was almost uncovered, and the rain poured 
freely. Me raised his eyes toward it ; it was not 
higher than the hand could reach. " I shall think 
of it," said he. " Thou wilt think of it ! Thou 
always tellest me so, but nothing is ever done. 
Hast thou not thy children, (two negroes of the 
workshop, her grandchildren,) who could mend the 
hut ? art thou not their master ? and art thou not 
thyself my son ? 

5. " Come," snid she, taking him by the arm, 
" come into the cabin, and see for thyself these 
openings : have pity, then, my son, on the old 
Irrouba, and repair at least, thai part of the roof 



263 BELINDA. 

which is above rny bed ; it is all I ask, and the 
Good Being will bless thee." And what was her 
bed ? Alas ! three boards put together, on which 
lay a bundle of parasite plant of the country. 
" The roof of thy hut is almost uncovered ; the 
sleet and the rain beat against thy miserable bed ; 
thy master sees all this, and yet has no compas- 
sion for thee, poor Irrouba," says the visiter. 



BELINDA, 

Born in a pleasant and fertile part of Africa, 
was brought thence to America, when she was 
about twelve years of age, and sold for a slave. In 
1782, she presented a petition to the legislature of 
Massachusetts. 

2. "Although I have," says she, "been sonant 
to a colonel forty years, my labors have not pro- 
cured me any comfort : I have not yet enjoyed the 
benefits of creation. With my poor daughter, I 
fear I shall pass the remainder of my days in 
slavery and misery. For her and for myself, I beg 
freedom.'' 

3. The authors of the American Museum have 
preserved this petition, written without art, but 
dictated by the < loquence of grief, and therefore 
more calculated to move the heart to pity. 



EXTRACT FROM A LETTER. 269 



EXTRACT FROM A LETTER FROM S. G. 

Alexandria, 1&09. 

At Georgetown, I had the company of several 
persons, among whom was a physician, who had 
but lately removed to that place. He appears to 
be of a sensible and tender spirit. He mentioned 
a circumstance of which he was an eye witness : 
and it being on a subject that had nearly interested 
my feelings since I crossed the Susquehanna 
river, I cannot but notice it. 

2. "While he lived back in the country, he was 
sent for by a slaveholder to visit a sick man. 
When he came to ihe place, he found a black man 
lying on a plank, with a little straw, and a poor 
blanket over him. In attending to him, his pulse 
seemed to be throbbing its last ; his eyes were 
shut, and life nearly gone. The slaveholder, not 
expecting this, began to curse and swear at the 
poor slave, threatening him how severely he would 
have him whipped as soon as he recovered; — "for," 
said he, " he has brought this sickness upon him- 
self, under pretensions of being religious, and going 
to night meetings."' 

3. Thus he continued his threats and swearing, 
until he was told the poor man could not live many 
minutes more. At which his countenance changed 
a little ; and the sick man, by a sudden effort, 

23 # 



270 A NEGRO slavi:. 

turning himself, opening his eyes, and clasping his 
hands thrice, cried out, in a language like this : " O ! 
glory and praise unto thee, Lord ! O ! what 
mercy and goodness thou hast shown me this day ! 
Glory unto thee, who art now taking my soul unto 
thyself, having redeemed it !" He then expired. 



A NEGRO SLAVE. 

The following account of the dying hours of a 
converted native of Africa, was given by a lady 
who witnessed her sufferings and comfort. This 
aged Christian was a slave in Antigua. She says, 
" We often visited her, and always found her 
cheerful and happy, and her mouth filled with 
blessings. She enumerated, with all the feelings 
of gratitude, the advantages she had derived from 
our coming to see her; blessing and praising God 
for it, and asking, in the most affectionate manner, 
for blessings on the very ship which brought us 
thither. 

2. " She could not, she said, forget her God, for 
he did not forget her ; when she lay down upon 
her bed, he came down to her: meaning by this, 
to del the spiritual communion which she 

enjoyed with her God and Saviour. She told us, 
if it was the will of ' Jesus Massa' to call her to- 



A NEGRO SLAVE. 271 

morrow, she should be satisfied to go : if it was 
his will to spare, her some time longer, she would 
be willing to stay. We frequently called to see 
her, and always found her in the same strain of 
adoring gratitude and love. 

3. " She often regretted her inability to come to 
prayers. Indeed, such was her desire to join us 
in worshipping God, that she once got her son to 
bring her on his back. When I asked her, on an- 
other occasion, how she did, she replied, she did 
not know ; but He who made the soul and body, 
knew, and the best time for calling her away. She 
only hoped it would not be pitch darkness ; but 
that there might be light : and that he would re- 
member his promises to her. She thanked me 
when I offered her some medicine ; said she would 
have any thing which we gave her, and that ' Jesus 
Massa would pay us for alV 

4. " On another visit, she asked, ' What can 
poor massa do more ? — what can poor missis do 
more ? They cannot take away old age.' She 
repeated, that she was waiting for her summons 
from above, and said God spared her a little, and 
she thanked him for it. By and by, when he saw 
his time, he would come, and then she would thank 
him for that. She once appeared to have some 
doubts in her mind ; for when she spoke of her 
approaching departure, she said she should be glad 
to go, if she was to be happy, and if the way was 
not dark. 



272 k : - vn. 

5. "On being asked if she did not love 'Jesus 
Massa,' she exclaimed, in great surprise at the 
question, ' Ah ! ah !' and then told us how, years 
ago, ^he had been in the habit of visiting different 
plantations, to hear the word of life ; and that when 
she came in, fatigued with labor in the field, she 
did not go to seek for food to nourish her body, 
but went in pursuit of that bread which endurelh 
unto eternal life. This evening she said, ' Jesus 
Massa come closer and closer to me.' 

6. " The next evening, she appeared so faint and 
low, as to be scarcely conscious of our coming in. 
After a while, however, she exerted herself to 
speak, and told us she was in pain from head to 
foot : nobody had beat her: nobody whipped her; 
but 'Jesus Massa' had sent the pain, and she 
thanked him for it : some day, when he saw good, 
he would come and take her away. 

7. " After lingering thus for some time, still in 
pain, but prayer and praise ever flowing from her 
lips, she drew near her end. When in her great- 
est extremities, she said her Saviour would give 
her ease, when he saw fit : and if he did not give it 
her now, he would give it her yonder — pointing 
upward. 

8. "Thus this aged Christian fell asleep in 
Jesus. Her external condition was by no means 
enviable. Little, however, as it presented to charm 
the eye of sense, a mind of spiritual discernment 
perceived in her humble cottage a heavenly guest, 



ACNES MORRIS. 273 

whose presence shed a divine splendor around, 
with which all the pomp of human greatness would 
vainly attempt to vie." 



AGNES MORRIS. 

Another narrative, respecting a dying woman, 
displays a faith so strong, a hope so full of immor- 
tality, as may lead the Christian reader to exclaim, 
" Let my last hours be like those of this poor 
slave." Agnes Morris, a poor negro woman, sent 
a pressing request to Mrs. Thwaites, a lady resi- 
dent in Antigua, to visit her : she was in the last 
stage of dropsy. 

2. This poor creature ranked among the lowest 
class of slaves. Her all consisted of a little wat- 
tled* hut and a few clothes. Mrs. Thwaites, find- 
ing her at the commencement of her illness in a 
very destitute condition, mentioned her case to a 
friend, who gave her a coat. When she paid her 
last visit, on her entering the door, Agnes exclaim- 
ed, " Missis ! you come ! This tongue can't tell 
what Jesus do for me ! Me call my Saviour day 
and night; and he come" — laying her hand on 
her breast — " he comfort me here." 

3. On being asked if she was sure of going to 

♦ Plaited twigs. 



'274 AGNES MORRIS. 

heaven when she died, she answered, " Yes, me 
sure. Me see de way clear, and shine before 
me" — looking and pointing upward with a smiling 
face. " If da dis minute, Jesus will take me 
home, me ready." Some hymns being sung, she 
was in a rapture of joy ; and in reference to the 
words of one of them, exclaimed, " For me — for 
me — poor sinner !" — lifting up her swelled hands — 
" what a glory ! what a glory !" 

4. Seeing her only daughter weeping, she said, 
"Whal you cry for ? No cry — follow Jesus — he 
will take care of you." And turning to Mrs. 
Thwaites, she said, " Missis, show nm dc pa :" 
meaning the path to heaven. Many other expres- 
sions fell from her, of a similar nature, to the as- 
tonishment of those who heard her. It was under- 
stood she continued praying and praising God to 
her latest breath. 

5. This poor creature was destitute of all earth- 
ly comforts. Hcv bed was a board, with a few 
plantain leaves over it. How many of these out- 
casts will be translated from outward wretchedness 
to realms of glory, there to mingle with the bless- 
ed, and sing praises to Him who lives for ever ! 



AN ANECDOTE. 2^5 



AN ANECDOTE. 

FROM THE GENIUS OF UNIVERSAL EMANCIPATION — 1825. 

This illustration of the effects of slavery on the hearts of those 
who enforce its cruelties, is copied from "Letters from the South 
and West" — a publication of great merit. 

A rich planter's lady had long been in a con- 
sumption, and was now in the last stages of life ; 
when, one day, one of the old slaves came to the 
gate, nearly blind, and bending down under the 
burden of almost a hundred years of faithful ser- 
vice for herself, and her father and grandfather 
before her. His remnants of clothing were so 
patched, that one could not distinguish the original 
garment. On his woolly head, all gray with age, 
was a cap of straw, of his own twisting. 

2. He stood weeping like a child, and said that 
he had crept up once more from the cotton field, 
and had been three days coming, to see his sick 
mistress before she died. His mistress sent for 
him to come, and spoke kindly unto him ; and 
when he was going to try to walk back again, he 
turned, and begged Ins sick mistress to give him 
a little salt to put into his grit, or small hominy of 
rice. " Begone !" cried the almost dvin? mistress, 
flying into a rage — " begone ! out this instant, you 
old ivhite-ioooled skeleton ! out, I say, or I'll send 
you to the driver !" 



5J76 MARYLAND TRADE. 



MARYLAND TRADE. 

FROM THE GENIUS OF UNIVERSAL EMANCIPATION. 

The reader will bear in mind, that the slaves 
transported in sundry vessels from Baltimore, as 
stated in the last number of this work, were taken 
by sea to New Orleans. The following advertise- 
ment is from a New Orleans paper: — 

2. " Ninety-eight Negroes for sale. 
" The subscriber has just received, by brig Lady 
Monroe, from Baltimore, Ninety-eight Negroes : 
among which, are a number of prime field hands ; 
a blacksmith ; a rough carpenter; a bricklayer; 
carriage drivers ; house servants ; seamstresses, 
and washerwomen : all of which will be sold low 
for cash, or on a short credit for good paper, by 

" John Woolpolh, 122 Chartres-streel.* 

3. I now have it from good authority, that five 
droves were met by a traveller, on the road be- 
tween Abbingdon and Winchester, in Virginia, 
from the 9lh to the '-21st of June last, going to 
Alabama. These droves consisted of from twenty- 
five to one hundred or upward. They were mostly 
taken from Maryland and the eastern counties of 
Virginia. In one of these droves, twenty-four men 
were chained together ! 



STEPHEN DUTTON. 277 



STEPHEN DUTTON, 

A man of color, residing in Wilmington, Dela- 
ware, advertised his little grand-daughter, Eliza 
Boyce, who is supposed to have been sold or kid- 
napped, and carried to some Southern market. 
He earnestly entreats the humane of all Southern 
towns, to observe the droves of slaves that are 
carried through the country, and if possible to dis- 
cover her. She is about ten years old. What a 
picture is here presented to a free people, tena- 
cious of their rights ! 



"MAN DOES NOT FEEL FOR MAN." 

The following facts have been communicated 
on such authority as leaves no room to doubt of 
their accuracy- A negro slave in Maryland was 
about to be sold for three hundred dollars, in the 
spring, to a Georgia planter, when a white man 
interfered and purchased the negro, who, on the 
payment of the purchase money, three hundred 
dollars with interest, was to be manumitted. 

2. Late in July last, the Maryland purchaser 
came to Philadelphia, and induced the negro to go 

24 



278 SPECULATION. 

with him to that state, for the purpose of making, 
as he said, some public official declaration, which 
it was necessary to have done in open court. The 
negro had repaid one hundred and forty dollars of 
the purchase money. He and the white man left 
the city together, and the negro has never been 
permitted to return. 

3. Of him and his destination we have ascer- 
tained the following particulars. The day after he 
left Philadelphia, at the first stage at which they 
stopped in Maryland, he was seized and put in 
irons ; four hundred dollars were paid for him, by 
a person said to have come from, and to reside in 
Alabama, and he was rapidly taken out of the 
state. This is a known case of inhumanity ! ! ! 

Philadelphia, August \3tli, 1825. 



SPECULATION ! 

A drove of negroes, on their way to a market, 
passed through Raleigh, North Carolina, and en- 
camped for the night about thirty miles distant. As 
the owner was securing them for the night, one of 
them took up a stone, and struck him so with it, 
as brought him to the ground. In the confusion 
which ensued, several of them made their escape 
though in chains. 



THE NEGRO MARTYR. 



279 



LIBERALITY. 

Governor Coles, of Illinois, that well-known 
advocate for liberty, has emancipated all the slaves 
he took with him from Virginia, and settled them 
on small farms. 



THE NEGRO MARTYR. 

The friends of negro slavery, or in other words, 
the abettors of rapine, cruelty, and murder, long 
endeavored to propagate an opinion, that the ne- 
groes were a race of men so destitute of natural 
talents, as not to be qualified for a situation supe- 
rior to that of a slave. A variety of facts have 
proved the falsehood of this injurious aspersion; 
the design of which was to blind the nation, that 
these slave-dealers might be allowed to revel on 
their prey. 

2. The African wants but civilization and gos- 
pel light, to make it manifest that mental powers 
" dwell in black and white the same ;" and the God 
of all mercy has bestowed on some of these " poor 
desolate outcasts of men," that knowledge and 
those riches which their proud oppressors never 



280 THE NEGRO MARTYR. 

knew. Among those thus favored, may be num- 
bered the subject of the following narrative. 

3. About sixteen years ago, a healthy and most 
valuable African slave, in one of the West India 
plantations, was converted to Christianity by being 
made a new creature in Christ Jesus. His wicked 
and brutal master, (falsely called a Christian,) did 
all he could to make him renounce his Saviour; 
and to effect this purpose, often flogged him most 
unmercifully. 

4. This cruelty, however, did not move the poor 
African youth from his adherence to Christ. The 
master persevered in his inhuman conduct, till, at 
length, on one day, memorable for the perpetration 
of the infernal deed, he determined, if the poor 
slave would not renounce Christ, that he would 
flog him to death!! With horrible cruelty, lie 
lashed him till his flesh xcas torn, <ut<l it hung 
about him in tatters ! ! 

5. With inhuman harani ss, the master, while 
he was thus rlo2ging his excellent slave, tauntingly 
inquired, " What now does your Jesus do for 
you?" The boy replied, " He helps me to bear 
dese strokes, ?tiassa, with patience." And when 
this heroic martyr, in the act o\' expiring, was 
sneeiingly asked by his tormentor, " And noic 
what has your Jesus done for you?" he immedi- 
ately answered, with a faltering voice, " Eve i dis, 
massa, dot me can pray for you, and FORGIVE 
you." 



THE NEGRO MARTYR. 281 

G. Here let us pause for a moment, and contrast 
the situation of these two human beings ; each pos- 
sessing an immortal soul, equally precious in the 
eyes of Him that made them. The poor slave, 
iust expiring under the barbarous treatment of his 
master, and looking forward to that rest and joy 
which are the inheritance of the faithful, could, 
with his latest breath, like good Stephen, pray for 
and forgive his cruel murderer. Though his de- 
parture was through severe bodily suffering, his 
soul is doubtless for ever happy. 

7. But language would fail to paint, in its true 

colors, the situation of the poor master ; and if we 

have a tear of pity to bestow, let us grant it to him. 

Avarice and tyranny must have blinded his eyes, 

and the cruelty of a demon taken possession of his 

heart. As to his sense of a state of retribution, we 

must leave that to Him who sees us as we really 

are, and from whose all-seeing eye nothing can 

be hid. 

24* 



282 THE AFRICAN CHIEF. 



THE AFRICAN CHIEF. 

FROM THE AFRICAN HLPOS1TOU-Y. 

Some years ago, the brother of Yaradee, the 
king of the Solimas, was captured in war, and 
brought in chains for sale to the Rio Pongas. His 
noble figure, awful front, and daring eve, bespoke 
a mind which could know but one alternative — 
freedom or ruin. He was exhibited like a beast 
in the market place, still adorned with massy lings 
of gold around his ancles, as in the days of his 
glory. 

2. The tyrant who bound him, demanded for 
him an enormous price, and though the warrioi 
offered immense sums for his redemption, he re- 
fused to listen a moment to his proposals. Dis- 
tracted by the thought of his degradation, the tear 
stole from his eye, when he entreated them i<> cut 
his haii, that had long been permitted to grow, and 
was plaited with peculiar care. Large wedges of 
gold were now laid at the feet of his master, to 
obtain his ransom. 

3. All was in vain. The wretch who held him 
was inexorable. Supplication might as well be 
made to the winds, or tin- cliffs ami deserts of his 
country. Elope was now dead, — darkness, deep 
and interminable, settled upon his soul. His 
faculties were shattered as by a stroke from on 



THE SLAVE-TAKER. 2S3 

high — he became a maniac ; and that robust frame 
which never trembled at danger, could not sustain 
the workings of his wounded spirit, but withered 
and perished under the weight of his chains. 

4. Ye who, under the best governments in the 
world, range at pleasure, and enjoy all that you 
can desire, having none to make you afraid, could 
the miseries produced by the slave trade be repre- 
sented to vou in their truth — in all their immens 
you w«uld not refuse your offerings to remove : 
curse which has consigned, and is now consigning, 
ten thousand manly forms to fellers, and ten thou- 
sand ncble souls to despair. 



THE SLAVE-TAKER. 

The following narrative is taken from the C i- 
mercial Advertiser, of 1825, as related by a per- 
son who attended the deathbed of a man. who 
had employed much of his time in the infamous 
business of taking up slaves, and Bending them 
back to their masters. He says, " One evening, 
just as I was preparing for bed, a femnle called 
upon me, and earnestly entreated me to go and 
see her husband, whom she believed to be near 
the close of life ; adding, ' He lias been long sepa- 
rated from me, and I arrived only yesterday, after 



284 THE SLAVE-TAKER. 

a journey of ten days, to witness his distressed 
situation.' 

2. " Taking my trusty servant with me, I fol- 
lowed her, and in a few minutes, we were bv the 
bedside of the dying man, who was worn almost 
to a skeleton, and surrounded by the appearances 
of abject poverty. The weeping wife threw her- 
self on the bed, and taking one of his feeble hands 
in hers, told him what she had done, and entreated 
him to open his heart to the friend she had brought 
to administer consolation : when, turning his lan- 
guid eyes toward me, in which horror and despair 
were strongly expressed — '0! sir,' said he, 'is 
there, can there be any hope for the greatest and 
the vilest sinner that ever lived v 

3. '•' Being exhausted, he fell asleep for a few 
minutes : but the spirit that never dies making an- 
other struggle before its departure, he turned his 
eyes around upon us, and said, 'This poor suffer- 
ing woman, whom I have so basely neglected, lias 
forgiven me, but there are those who can never 
forgive me ; those whom I have injured and be- 
i! iyed, and who are out of my reach — beyond any 

lement I can offer.* 'God is infinite,' said I, 
'in all his attributes, and mercy is among the num- 
ber.' ' ! sir, I know it,' replied he ; ' but there 
i oni base act of treachery, besides that to my 
poor wife, which hangs like a mill stone about my 
neck. 

4. " ' Having left my native state in poverty and 



THE SLAVS-TAKER. 285 

distress, brought on by bad habits, I came to Phila- 
delphia ; and being willing to do almost any thing, 
I soon tell in with two slave-owners from my own 
state, looking for some slaves who had made their 
escape from them : and having it in my pow^r to 
assist them, I did it, and they rewarded me beyond 
my highest expectations ; and for six years, J ob- 
tained a disgraceful subsistence by such acts of 
cruelly. 

5. " ' Among other transactions of that period, 
was the apprehension of a man called James, who 
had belonged to the estate of Mr. R , of Albe- 
marle county, the recollection of which torments 

me inexpressibly. At the death of Mr. R , 

James passed into the hands of those who treated 
him very ill — and he ran away. When I first fell 
in with him, he lived on a small lot in New Jer- 
sey, with his wife, (a free woman, whom he had 
married in Virginia, and contrived to bring with 
him,) and three children. 

6. " ' After losing my way, and travelling some 
hours on foot, I came to his little habitation, late 
at night. He treated me very kindly, gave me 
food, and his own bed, while himself and wife oc- 
cupied chairs by the fire ; and in the morning, he 
walked with me several miles, to put me in the 
right way: it was in vain that I offered him a 
small reward, he would not take it. 

7. " ' Months had passed away, when by chance 
I saw an old advertisement, offering a large reward 



286 THE SLAVE-TAKER. 

for Lis apprehension. I knew at once it was 
James, for I had observed a remarkable scar on 
his chin, which was mentioned in the description 
of him. Hard as my heart then was, and callous 
to every feeling of humanity, I could not help 
shuddering at the thought of betraying my kind 
friend : but the prospect of gain soon made my 
decision. I wrote to his master, and received his 
swer. All things were prepared, and I was to 
Lave fifty dollars more than the sum mentioned in 
the advertisement. 

8. '"I went alone to his quiet retreat, (it was in 
winter, and the weather had been piercingly cold, 
and the river Delaware was closed,) and arrived at 
early twilight. How bitter have my thoughts been 
since, when I have recollected the honest satisfac- 
tion that gleamed in his sable features when I ap- 
proached. During the evening, I proposed to him 
a removal into Pennsylvania : I told him I had a 
few acres of land, suitable for a garden, and a 

mfortable dwelling-house in the neighborhood of 
the city, and that, recollecting his former kindness 
to me, I had come to persuade him to occupy the 
one, and improve the other, for which I could af- 
ford to give him high wages. 

9. " 'The poor man agreed to accompany me 
nc\i day, to look at the premises; and if they 
pleased him, to take possession of them on the 
fir.- Early in the morning,' I was awaked 
by preparations for breakfast ; and they were de- 



THE SLAVE-TAKER. 287 

lighted with my taking so much notice of them as 
I did, and with my gratitude for the services they 
had rendered me ; the whole family were cheerful. 

10. '" We parted with light hearts, and James 
and I readied the river in due time, and began to 
cross it od the ice. Hitherto, we had walked side 
by side, but now he fell a little behind me ; and 
we had proceeded but a little way, when I per- 
ceived the ice to give way, and I immediately 
went down as far as my arms, which I stretched 
out, and so supported myself for some minutes, 
until James threw me the end of his greatcoat, to 
which I held, and he pulled me out, and taking 
me on his shoulder, carried me very much exhaust- 
ed to the shore.' 

11. " Here the sick man closed his eyes, and 
lay for a short time ; when, reviving, he resumed 
the affecting narrative: — 'On coming to myself 
again, J found what my intended innocent victim 
had been prompted to do by feelings of humanity 
and gratitude — he had rescued me from inevitable 
destruction. Shall I tell you what followed V 
4 O, my husband !' exclaimed the wife, 'you could 
not have persevered in your wicked purpose — you 
never could have sent the man into slavery who 
had preserved your life /' 

12. " ' Yes, I could, I did !' replied the husband, 
— 'cold-blooded villain that I was: the very day 
which witnessed my danger and my delivery, saw 
me assist in binding, chaining hand and foot, 



258 THE SLAVE T.\KI. 

bim to whom I was indebted for my -worthless 
life ! Separated from hid wife and children, and 
freedom, no departed without uttering a single 
word Once, and once only, he suffered his eyes 

to dwell 1'or an instant on mine, which sunk before 
their glare. Never can I forget that agonizing and 
despairing glance — it haunts me in broad daylight 
— it is with me in the deepest shades of night f 

13. "My servant had risen up, and he stood 
behind me, his eyes glistening with tears that 
trickled down his ebon cheeks ; and when the sick 
man saw him, he exclaimed, in the extremity of 
terror, ' James is there — behind yon, sir — he is 
come to torment me already ! Take him away — 
take him away !' he repeated slowly, and sunk 
into a slumber from which he never awoke !" 

14. "The eyes of the Loid arc upon the ways 
of man, he seeth all his goings. There is no dark- 
ness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of 
iniquity may hide themselves. He stnkcih them 
as wicked men in the open sight of others. '1 hey 
cause the cry of the poor to come unto him ; and 
he heareth the cry of the afflicted. WJien he 
giveth quietness, who then can make trouble ? and 
when he hideth his face, who then can behold 
him ! whether it be done against a nation, or against 
a man only," Job xxxiv. 



THE TWO BOYS. 289 



THE TWO BOYS. 

As W. A. B., a citizen of New York, was re- 
turning from Albany, in the winter of 1818 or 
1819, in the stage coach, it was overturned, and 
he was so much hurt, as to render him unable to 
proceed : he therefore remained at a house about 
twenty miles from the city. 

2. Not long after his fellow-travellers had left 
him, a man by the name of Howard, with two lit- 
tle black boys, in a covered sleigh, stopped at the 
door ; and our traveller, feeling sufficiently recov- 
ered from his hurt to proceed on his journey in an 
easy way, requested Howard to allow him to take 
a seat in his sleigh, and accompany him to New 
York, whither he told him he was going. 

3. His request was at first refused, but after 
much persuasion, and an offer of payment for the 
trouble, he was permitted to bear them company. 
On leaving the house, one of the boys was placed 
on the back of the sleigh, (perhaps because their 
conversation might betray the wicked purposes of 
their master,) and was often called to, which cir- 
cumstances created suspicion that all was not 
right. 

4. They had not gone far, before the boy was 

missing ; and Howard going back to look for him, 

B. had an opportunity of asking the other boy 

25 



290 THE TWO BOYS. 

some questions ; from whose answers he plainly 
perceived that the design was to take them to the 
Southern States, for the purpose of selling them. 
The boy being soon found, they proceeded quietly 
along till near evening, when they reached the 
city. 

5. B. being left at his own house, he sent a per- 
son after Howard, to see where he put up ; but in- 
stead of going to a livery stable, as he said he 
should, he went directly to the ferry at Powles 
Hook and crossed. This information was com- 
municated by B. to some of the members of the 
Manumission Society, and two of them, C. M. and 
S. W., who were of ihe standing committee, were, 
next morning, though it was a severe snow storm, 

it the ferry before daylight ; and crossing as soon 
as they could, they pursued him several miles on 
the post road to Philadelphia ; but finding, on in- 
quiry, that he had turned off into a by-way, they 
followed and overtook h m, after travelling several 
miles further. 

6. At the house where he had put up, he was 
very familiar, and he said he had frequently been 
there, on his wav to and from Washington. 
Being informed that he had violated the laws of 
New York, in bringing the boys away, and that he 
must return with them, he made many excuses ; 
but they were not sufficient, and they all returned 
together. 

7. It appeared, however, on examination of both 



THE TWO BOYS. 291 

Howard and the boys, that they were going by 
their own consent ; therefore, after receiving a 
severe reprimand, and leaving money to pay the 
passage of one of them in the stage coach, back 
to the place of his residence, Howard was suffered 
to depart. The other, named John Jackson, is a 
near connexion of Peter Williams's wife, in this 
city. This one was soon sent to sea, and he has 
followed that employment ever since ; the other 
soon returned home. 

8. From the boys' account, it appears that one 
of them had run away from his master in Con- 
necticut, and gone to Peekskill, where the other 
lived. There Howard, meeting with them, told 
them of many fine and curious things to be seen 
at Washington, to which place he was going, and 
whither he would carry them, free of expense. 
When they passed through the city, he told them 
they must lie close in the bottom of the sleigh, for 
fear they would be taken away, and kept as chim- 
ney sweepers. 

9. They were so entirely deceived by his prom- 
ises, and so pleased with the prospect he held out 
to them, that they could scarcely be persuaded to 
quit his company, even when their danger was 
stated to them. Poor boys ! they did not know 
the miserable state to which this base man was 
leading them. 



292 THE LITTLE BOSTONIAN. 



THE LITTLE BOSTONIAN. 

In the year 1819, a decent-looking man, residing 
at Sturbridge, in the interior of Massachusetts, 
called at the house of a colored woman in Boston, 
and inquired if she had not a son, whom she was 
willing to place on his farm in the country- He 
promised to feed and clothe him, and to give him 
an ordinary school education. 

2. The poor woman, rejoiced at the prospect of 
obtaining so advantageous a situation for her child, 
without inquiring into his character, as she ought 
to have done, gladly gave her consent ; and fur- 
nishing the boy with all his best clothing, she des- 
patched him on his journey to the country, with, 
as she thought, his future master. 

3. Instead of taking him to Sturbridge, as he 
had promised, this man placed him on board a 
vessel bound to New York, and set sail with him 
the same day for that place. Immediately on his 
arrival there, lie inquired for a vessel bound and 
ready to sail for a southern port. He soon found 
one on the eve of departing for Savannah, and 
took the boy on board ; but providentially, a change 
of wind prevented them from sailing until the next 
day. 

4. In the mean time, he went on shore to amuse 
himself, and left orders for the boy to remain in 



THE LITTLE BOSTONIAN. 293 

the forecastle, stating to the hands that he was his 
property, and that they must not permit him to go 
on shore, lest he should be lost. The poor child 
remained there, according to his directions, igno- 
rant of the fate that awaited him. He was fear- 
ful that something was wrong, but still he could 
scarcely suspect that he could meet with any in- 
jury from the person to whom his only surviving 
parent had entrusted him, with the strongest in- 
junctions of obedience. 

5. While he was in that situation, at times mani- 
festing his grief by tears, the pilot who was em- 
ployed to take the ship to sea, attracted by his in- 
teresting appearance and the mournful expression 
of his countenance, inquired of him the cause of 
his being there alone, (for the kidnapper was still 
on shore,) where he was going, and what was the 
matter with him. 

6. The boy told him his story in the simplicity 
of his heart — that he had left his mother to go 
into the country upon a farm, and that the man 
with whom he was going, had gone away and left 
him alone. The humane pilot immediately sus- 
pected the truth, took him by the hand, and led 
him up to a member of the New York Manumis- 
sion Society, who made himself acquainted with 
the particulars of his situation, and promised him 
his protection. 

7. Shortly after, the kidnapper made his appear- 
ance, in pursuit of his prey, and upon his arrival, 

25» 



294 EXTRAORDINARY EXERTIONS 

was ta en before the police justices of the city, 
and committed for his offence. The boy was 
given up to the members of the Manumission 
Society, and returned by them to his mother in 
Boston, to whom he was the first to communicate 
the particulars of his escape from the dreadful 
fate which had awaited him. 

8. The miserable wretch who had brought him 
away, in consequence of the interference and so- 
licitations of his friends, and of some indications 
which were given of his having been at times in- 
sane, was permitted to return to his friends, who 
promised to prevent him from engaging in similar 
practices in future. 



EXTRAORDINARY EXERTIONS TO OBTAIN 

LIBERTY 

The following account of < xtraurdmary exertions to obtain liberty, 
.-in object so congenial with the best feelings of the human heart, 
is copied from the New York Commercial Advertiser of 1822. 

" That human being, who would run the gaunt- 
let for freedom so desperately as the poor African 
appeals to hive ^one, whose story is given below, 
surely should never again be brought under l he 
lash of a taskmaster. The captain of a vessel 
from North Carolina, called upon the police for 
advisement respecting a slave he had unconscious- 



TO OBTAIN LIBERTY. 295 

ly brought away in his vessel, under the following 
curious circumstances : — 

2. "Three or four days after he had got to 
sea, he began to be haunted every hour with tones 
of distress seemingly proceeding from a human 
voice in the very lowest part of the vessel. A 
particular scrutiny was finally instituted, and it 
was concluded that the creature, whatever or who- 
ever it might be, must be confined down in the 
run under the cabin floor ; and on boring a hole 
with an auger, and demanding, ' Who's there V 
a feeble voice responded, ' Poor negro, massa /' 
It was clear enough then that some runawav negro 
had hid himself there, before they sailed, trusting 
to Providence for his ultimate escape. 

3. " Having discovered him, however, it was 
impossible to give him relief, for the captain had 
stowed even the cabin so completely full of cotton, 
as but just to leave room for a small table for him- 
self and the mate to eat on ; and as for unloading 
at sea, that was pretty much out of the question. 
Accordingly, there he had to lie, stretched at full 
length, for the tedious interval of thirteen days, 
till the vessel arrived in port and unloaded, re- 
ceiving his food and drink through the auger hole. 

4. "The fellow's story is, now he is released, 
that being determined to get away from slaverv, 
he supplied himself with eggs, and biscuit, and 
some jugs of water, which latter he was just on 
the point of depositing in his lurking place, when 



296 HE AFRICAN BOY. 

lie discovered the captain at a distance coming on 
board, and had to hurry down as fast as possible 
and leave them ; that he lived on nothing but his 
eggs and biscuit, till discovered by the captain, not 
even getting a drop of water, except what he had 
the good fortune to catch in his hand one day, 
when a vessel of water in the cabin was overset, 
during a squall, and some of it ran down through 
the cracks of the floor over him." 



THE AFRICAN BOY. 

A gentleman from the East Indies, who lately 
arrived at Exeter, presented a lady with a little 
African boy, about nine or ten years of age, which 
some time since, he humanely preserved from 
being destroyed by a slave merchant. 

2. It appears that among many slaves who were 
offered for sale by the captain of a slave ship, this 
black infant was one ; but, not being able to pro- 
cure a purchaser, he took the child up by the leg 
and arm to throw him into the ocean, and when in 
the very act, the above gentleman interposed, and 
agreed to give him some consideration for him. 



ABRAHAM. — JOHN MOSELY. 297 



ABRAHAM. 

A boy called Abraham, not quite four years old, 
was not only remarkably patient and resigned 
during his last illness, but his conversation proved 
an abiding blessing to his father, who happened 
then to be in an unhappy state of mind. On the 
day before he died, he asked him, " Father, do you 
love me ?" The father replied, " Yes, I do." Up- 
on repeating his question, he received the same 
answer. " But then," added he, " do you love our 
Saviour ?" " No," replied the father, " I am just 
now very poor and miserable." " Ah !" said the 
child, " if you do not love our Saviour, you cannot 
love me as you ought." 



JOHN MOSELY. 

FROM THE HARTFORD COORANT. 

Died, in this city, John Mosely, an aged colored 
man, well known for his industry, prudence, and 
integrity. Having no relations, he devoted his 
property to charitable objects. By his will, he 
gave to the Hartford Female Beneficent Society, 
100 dollars; to the American Colonization Society, 



298 NANCY PITCHFORD. 

200 dollars ; to the Connecticut Bible Society, 
100 dollars; to the American Education Society, 
100 dollars; and after other legacies, the residue 
of his estate to the Domestic Missionary Society 
of Connecticut. 



NANCY PITCHFORD, 

A woman of color, died in 1S2-4, at Hartford, 
Connecticut, aged 67 years. For the first forty 
years of her life she was a slave. She sustained 
an excellent character, was for many years a pro- 
fessor of religion, and gave satisfactory evidence 
of sincere and lively piety. At the time of her 
death, she had acquired by her industry and care, 
more than four hundred dollars, the whole of 
which, after paying the expenses of her last sick- 
ness and funeral, she left by will to charitable pur- 
poses. 



WILLIAM BOWEN. 299 



GRATITUDE OF A SLAVE. 

Captain Sudbury, of the English navy, lately 
received a consignment of gold dust, valued at 
13,000/., (over 60,000 dollars,) from the Slave 
Coast of Africa, as a present from one of the native 
princes, whom he had freed from slavery, among a 
whole cargo of slaves which he had captured. The 
name of the prince is pronounced Corkboot. 



WILLIAM BOWEN. 

Died, near Mount Holly, New Jersey, 12th of 
Sixth month, 1824, in the 90lh year of his age, 
William Bowen, a man of color. The deceased 
was one of those who have demonstrated the truth 
of that portion of Scripture, that " in every nation, 
he that feareth God and workcth righteousness, is 
accepted with him." 

2. He was concerned in early life to do justly, 
love mercy, and walk humbly with his God ; and 
by closely attending to the light of Christ, and 
faithfully abiding under the operation of that bless- 
ed spirit of Divine Grace in his soul, he was ena- 
bled not only to bear many precious testimonies, 



300 EPITAPH. 

through his life, but to bring forth those fruits of 
the Spirit, which redound to the glory of God, and 
to the salvation of the soul. 

3. He was an exemplary member of the reli- 
gious Society of Friends. As he lived, so he died, 
a rare pattern of a self-denying follower of Jesus 
Christ. He had no apparent # disease either of 
body or mind ; and as he expressed himself, but a 
short time before his death, " he felt nothing but 
weakness," which continued to increase until he 
gently breathed his last, and no doubt entered into 
his Heavenly Father's rest. " Mark the perfect 
man, and behold the upright, for the end of that 
man is peace." 



EPITAPH 



The following epitaph on a colored person, is copied from a 
tombstone, in the neighborhood of Providence. 

1. Here lies the best of slaves, 

All crumbling into dust ; 

Cesar the Ethiopian, craves 

A place among the just. 

2. His faithful soul has fled, 

To realms of heavenly light. 
And by the blood that Jesus shed, 
He's changed from black to white. 



ANTHONY BENEZET. 301 



ANTHONY BENEZET. 

Died, on the 3d of Fifth month, 1784, Anthony 
Benezet, aged 71 years, a member of the Society 
of Friends. It was a day of sorrow. The afflicted 
widow, the unprotected orphan, and the poor of all 
descriptions, had lost the sympathetic mind of 
Benezet. Society lamented the extinguishment of 
the brilliant light of his philanthropy. 

2. The wandering tribes in the American wil- 
derness, and the oppressed Africans, were indeed 
bereft ; for his willing pen and tongue had ceased 
for ever to portray the history of their injuries, or 
plead for the establishment of their rights, before 
the sons of men. 

3. At the interment of his remains, in Friends' 
burial ground in Philadelphia, was the greatest 
concourse of people that had ever been witnessed 
on such an occasion ; being a collection of all 
ranks and professions among the inhabitants ; thus 
manifesting the universal esteem in which he was 
held. 

4. Among others who paid that last tribute of 
respect, were many hundred black people, testify- 
ing, by their attendance, and by their tears, the 
grateful sense they entertained of his pious efforts 
in their behalf. Having no children, by his will 
he bequeathed his estate to his wife during her 

26 



302 ANTHONY EENEZET 

natural life. At her decease, he directed several 
small sums to be paid to poor and obscure persons . 

5. The residue he devised in trust to the over 
seers of the public school, " to hire and employ a 
religious-minded person or persons, to teach a 
number of negro, mulatto, or Indian children to 
read, write, arithmetic, plain accounts, needle- 
work, &c. And it is my particular desire, founded 
on the experience I have had in that service, that, 
in the choice of such tutor, special care may be 
taken to prefer an industrious, careful person, of 
true piety, who may be or become suitably quali- 
fied, who would undertake the service from a prin- 
ciple of charity, to one more highly learned not 
equally disposed." 

6. He also bequeathed, as a special legacy, the 
sum of fifty pounds, to the society in Pennsylva- 
nia for the promotion of the abolition of slavery. 
Thus closed the life of this great and good man. 
Dispensing his blessings with his own hand, he 
was too liberal to be a man of wealth. He was 
a native of France ; and in the ancient records ot 
his family are exhibited evidences of religious 
character in his predecessors. 

7. Connected with the demise of his grand- 
father, the event is said to be, "to the great afflic- 
tion of his children, and the universal regret of his 
relatives and friends, for he was a model of virtue 
and purity, and lived in the constant fear of God." 
Attached to the birth nme of his grandson Antho- 



ANTHONY BENEZET. 303 

ny, are these expressions : " May God bless him, 
in making him a partaker of his mercies." Though 
virtue is not hereditary, it must be admitted that 
example is powerful. 

8. Among the productions of Anthony Benezet's 
pen, was, " An historical account of Guinea, its 
situation, produce, and the general disposition of its 
inhabitants ; with an inquiry into the rise and pro- 
gress of the slave trade, its nature, and calamitous 
effects." 

Note from the Me?noirs of A. Benezet. 

9. The influence of this work, in giving an im- 
pulse to the mind of the indefatigable and benevolent 
Thomas Clarkson, whose exertions contributed so 
much toward bringing about the abolition of the 
slave trade by the British parliament, is certainly 
remarkable. In the year 1785, Dr. Peckard, vice- 
chancellor of the University of Cambridge, pro- 
posed to the senior Bachelors of Arts, of whom 
Clarkson was one, the following question for a 
Latin dissertation : viz. (in English,) " Is it right 
to make slaves of others against their will ?" 

10. Having in the former year gained a prize 
for the best Latin dissertation, he resolved to main- 
tain the classical reputation he had acquired, by 
applying himself to the subject ; but it was one 
with which he was by no means familiar, and he 
was at a loss what authors to consult respecting it; 
" when, going by accident" he says, " into a friend's 



304 THOMAS SHIPLEY. 

house, I took up a newspaper then lying on the 
table. 

11. "One of the articles which attracted my 
notice, was an advertisement of Anthony Benezet's 
historical account of Guinea. I soon left my friend 
and his paper, and, to lose no time, hastened to 
London to buy it. In this precious book I found 
almost all I wanted." The information furnished 
by Benezet's book encouraged him to complete his 
essay, which was rewarded with the first prize ; 
and from that moment, Clarkson's mind became 
interested with the great subject of the abolition. 



THOMAS SHIPLEY. 

Died, in Philadelphia, on Seventhday morning, 
17th of Ninth month, 1836, after a short illness, 
Thomas Shipley, in the 49th year of his age. He 
had been for many years distinguished for benevo- 
lent and untiring exertions in befriending the Afri- 
can race, and was followed to the grave by more 
than a thousand colored persons, male and female, 
— a spontaneous demonstration of their sense of 
gratitude. 



GOVERNOR RITNER'S MESSAGE. 305 



GOVERNOR RITNER'S MESSAGE 
TO THE LEGISLATURE OF PENNSYLVANIA IN 183G. 

FROM " THE FRIEND." 

One part of it, that in regard to slavery and the 
applications of several of the slave-holding states 
for legislative action thereon, is so honorable to 
himself, and so fully in accordance with the atti- 
tude becoming the state of Pennsylvania in rela- 
tion to this matter, that we must not withhold an 
extract from it. After reference to the statute 
book and journals of the legislature for repeated 
acts and declarations on the subject, from 1780 to 
the present time, he thus continues: — 

2. " Not only has Pennsylvania thus expelled 
the evil from her own borders, but she has, on all 
proper occasions, endeavored to guard her younger 
sisters from the pollution. On the 19th of De- 
cember, 1S19, the following language was unan- 
imously made use of by the legislature, and ap- 
proved bv the governor, on the question of admit- 
ting new states into the Union, with the right of 
holding slaves : — 

3. " ' That the senators and representatives of this 
state, in the congress of the United States, be, and 
they are hereby requested to vote against the ad- 
mission of anv territory as a state into the Union, 

26* 



306 GOVERNOR RITNER'S MESSAGE. 

unless the further introduction of slavery or invol- 
untary servitude, (except for the punishment of 
crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly 
convicted,) shall be prohibited ; and all children 
born within the said territory, after its admission 
into the Union as a state, shall be free, but may be 
held to service until the age of twenty-five years.' 
The preamble to this resolution, too long to be re- 
cited atTarge, is worthy of all consideration at the 
present juncture. 

4. " On the much discussed question of slavery 
in the District of Columbia, there never has been 
any thing like hesitation. On the 23d of Jan- 
uary, 1819, the legislature passed a resolution in- 
structing our representatives in congress to advo- 
cate the passage of a law for its abolition ; and 
the voice of public opinion, as expressed through 
the press, at meetings, and in petitions, has been 
unchanging on the subject. 

5. " These tenets, then, viz., opposition to sla- 
very at home, which, by the blessing of Provi- 
dence, has been rendered effectual, — opposition to 
the admission into the Union of new slave-holding 
states, — and opposition to slavery in the District 
of Columbia, the very hearth and domestic abode 
of the national honor, — have ever been, and are 
the cherished doctrines of our state. Let us, fel- 
low-citizens, stand by and maintain them unshrink- 
ingly and fearlessly. While we admit and scrupu- 
lously respect the constitutional rights of other 



GOVERNOR RITNER's MESSAGE. 30"? 

states, on this momentous subject, let us not, either 
by fear or interest, be driven fi om aught of that 
spirit of independence, and veneration for freedom, 
which has ever characterized our beloved com- 
monwealth. 

6. " Above all, let us never yield up the right of 
the free discussion of any evil which may arise in 
the land, or any part of it ; convinced that |ke mo- 
ment we do so, the bond of union is broken^For, 
the union being a voluntary compact to continue 
together for certain specified purposes, the instant 
one portion of it succeeds in imposing terms and 
dictating conditions upon another, not found in the 
contract, the relation between them changes, and 
that which was union becomes subjection." 



308 AN AFFECTING STORY 



AN AFFECTING STORY. 

FROM ZION'S HERALD. 

We copy the following story from the Western 
Christian Advocate. The statement was made by 
a MeAjlist local preacher. A pious negro who 
was converted through his instrumentality, was 
present and heard the relation, and repeated it to 
the correspondent of the above-mentioned paper. 
The writer has seen others who knew Jack, and 
he believes the narrative may be relied on as one 
of truth. We give it a conspicuous place, as it 
most evidently deserves it. 

2. " When I was a lad," (said Jack, in his ser- 
mon,) " there were no religious people in the 
neighborhood where I lived. But I had a young 
master about my own age, who was going to 
school, and he was very fond of me. At night, he 
would come into the kitchen to teach me the les- 
sons he had learned himself during the day at 
school. In this way I learned to read. When I 
was well nigh grown up, we took the New Testa- 
ment, and agreed to read it through, verse by 
verse ; and when one would make any mistake, 
the other was to correct him, for the purpose of 
learning to read well. In a shoit time, we both 
became sensible that wc were sinners before God,' 
and jointly agreed to seek the salvation of our souls. 



AN AFFECTING STORY. 309 

3. " The Lord heard our mutual prayer, and 
gave us both religion, and I commenced holding 
meetings for prayer and exhortation, among the 
black people in the neighborhood. My old master 
soon found out what was going on, and was- very 
angry, especially on account of his son's having 
become religious ; and he forbade me holding any 
more meetings, saving that if 1 did, hW^puld 
chastise me severely for it. From that time, how- 
ever, I continued to preach or exhort on Sabbaths, 
and Sabbath nights, and on Monday morning my 
old master would tie me up, and cut my back to 
pieces with the cowhide ; so that it never had time 
to get well ; and I was obliged to perform my 
work in a great deal of pain from day to day. 

4. " This state of things continued nearly eigh- 
teen months, when, on one Monday morning, my 
master, as usual, had made my fellow-slaves bind 
me to a shade tree in the yard, after stripping my 
back naked, to receive the cowhide. It was a 
beautiful morning in summer time, and the sun 
shone exceedingly bright, and every thing around 
appeared very pleasant. He approached me with 
cool deliberation, took his stand, and surveyed me 
narrowly, but the cowhide hung motionless at his 
side. It was an eventful moment in the history of 
his life, — when conscience triumphed over the ma- 
lignant spirit of a persecuting tyrant. 

5. "'Well, Jack, your back is all covered with 
scars and sores, and I see no place to begin to 



310 AN AFFECTING STORY. 

whip. l r ou incorrigible wretch, how long do you 
intend to go on in this way V ' Why, master, just 
so long as the Lord will let me live,' was my re- 
ply. ' Well, what is your design in it V ' Why, 
in the morning of the resurrection, when my poor 
body shall rise from the grave, I intend to show 
these scars to my heavenly Master, as so many 
witne^pP' of my faithfulness in his cause here 
upon earth.' He ordered me to be untied, and 
sent me to hoe corn in the field. 

0. " Late in the evening, he came along, pulling 
up a weed here and a weed there, till he got to 
me and told me to sit down. ' Jack,' said he, ' I 
want you to tell me the truth honestly. You know 
for a long time you have been constantly sore from 
the cowhide, and had to work very hard, and are a 
poor slave ; now tell me, are you happy, or are 
you not, under such afflictions as these ?' ' Yes, 
master, I believe I am as happy a man as there is 
on earth.' 'Well, Jack, I am not happy. Your 
religion, you say, teaches you to pray for those 
who persecute you. Now will you pray for your 
old master, Jack?' 'Yes, with all my heart,' 
said I. 

7. " We kneeled down, and I prayed for him. 
He came again and again to me, and I prayed for 
him in the field, till he found peace in the blood of 
the Lamb. We afterward lived together like 
brothers m the same church, and on his deathbed, 
lie gave me my liberty, and told me to go on 



SLAVE TRADE. 311 

preaching as long as I lived, and meet him at last 
in heaven. I have seen many Christians I loved, 
but I have never seen any I loved so well as my 
old master, and I have no doubt I shall meet him 
in heaven. 



SLAVE TRADE. 

FROM THE ALBANY DAILY ADVERTISER. 

Accounts from Mantanzas state that the slave- 
trade still prevails to a great extent in the West 
Indies ; that many ships from the United States 
are sold at that place, for the purpose of being sent^ 
to the Slave Coast of Africa ; that there is an an- 
chorage ground near that place, where the cargoes 
of human beings are landed, and driven into mar- 
ket like cattle. 

2. Those engaged in this inhuman trade may 
depend that 

"The hour is approaching, — a terrible hour, 
AndVcngeance is bending her bow." 

The wealth gained by " the agony and bloody 
sweat" of the poor Africans, who are stolen from 
their homes, will never prosper ; — the curse of 
heaven will be on it ! 



312 SARAH HOAR. 



SARAH HOAR. 

Died, in Philadelphia, about the middle of the 
summer of 1824, Sarah Hoar, a woman of color. 
In 1S17, she went to a house in that city to ask 
for col#"provision, and the people, seeing her much 
afflicted, supplied her with food. She afterward 
came frequently, and feeling desirous to know 
more of her situation and history, they made her a 
visit, and found her statement of circumstances 
correct, and were encouraged to assist her. 

2. She was afflicted with a cancer in her face, 
which had so disfigured her by its ravages, as to 
make it necessary to have it covered. In their 
frequent visits, they generally found her suffering 
with severe pain; and the disorder increasing, 
swallowing became difficult, and in time, her eves 
were so affected that she became entirely blind. 

3. Inquiry was made whether she had a doctor. 
She said she had had a number, but none of them 
could cure her. A doctor who lived near had 
been very kind to her ; he washed and dressed her 
face twice a day, and gave her medicine, and did 
not charge her any thing for it, though he was a 
poor man. 

4. On making the doctor and his wife a visit, 
the wife said her husband sometimes scanted his 
own family, to give to this poor suffering woman. 



SARAH HOAR. 313 

And the doctor said he believed her to be a good 
woman, and it was for Christ's sake that he took 
care of her, and that he was kind to her because 
he thought it his duty ; and several times repeated, 
with tears in his eyes, he believed when she died 
she would go to heaven. 

5. When some of the family went to see her in 
extremely cold weather, they found the only cov- 
ering to her bed was a few old rags ; yet of this 
she had not. complained, and they would not have 
known it, but for going into her lodging room to 
see what she stood in need of. She said, some- 
times in the night her sufferings were so great 
thai she could not sleep, and she had got up and 
prayed to God for relief, after which the pain 
abated so that she could lie down and sleep. 

6. A subscription was raised to pay her board, 
and the persons of her own color, with whom she 
was placed, were glad to take care of her, and 
showed her much kindness ; and of the great num- 
ber who visited her, we never heard any speak a 
word to her disadvantage, but on the contrary, they 
often said she was a good woman, and bore an 
excellent character. 

7. After the disease had affected her eyes so 

that she could not see those who came in, a young 

woman who frequently visited her, says, " When 

I spoke, she immediately knew my voice, and 

always shook my hand in the most affectionate 

manner possible, telling me how glad she was that 

27 



314 SARAH HOAR. 

I came to see her ; and then making grateful in- 
quiries about those persons who so kindly contrib- 
uted to her support. 

8. " The doctor told me he sometimes found 
her on her knees praying, and as she could not 
see him, and he was unwilling to disturb her, he 
generally waited quietly until she had finished, 
without her knowing that he was there. 

9. " Many nights toward the last, her sufferings 
were so extreme that she could not even lie down 
to sleep ; and yet, in all her troubles, she seemed 
grateful for the blessings she received, and I do 
not recollect that I ever heard her speak in a dis- 
satisfied manner. 

10. " Her children were worthless creatures, 
and in her greatest affliction they deserted her. 
This, though a source of trouble to her, she en- 
deavored to bear patiently. I knew her seven 
years. In all that lime she was in the situation 
described, and had been so a Ions time. 

11." Some time having passed without my see- 
ing her, one morning the person with whom she 
had lived, came and told us she was dead. About 
four o'clock that morning, she appeared as well as 
common, when the family heard her at prayer, ac- 
cording to her usual custom. At breakfast, she 
seemed a little unwell, and had lost her appetite. 

12. " They sent for the doctor, who, when he 
came and saw her, said she was dying, and soon 
after she breathed her last ; and 1 firmly believe 



BLESSED FEELINGS. 315 

she has gone to a place of rest, where she will 
receive a reward for her long-continued patience, 
daring the many years of suffering allotted her. 
Let the reader of these few lines remember that 
God sees us in all our afflictions, and will comfort 
all who act correctly, and endeavor to keep the 
word of his patience." 



BLESSED FEELINGS FROM AN ACT OF 
JUSTICE. 

FROM THE GENIUS OF UNIVERSAL EMANCIPATION. 

It may be recollected that the family of slaves 
belonging to David Patterson, of North Carolina, 
were sent to Hayti a short time ago. This family 
consisted of an elderly woman, her six children, 
and four grandchildren. They were recommend- 
ed to the special notice of President Boyer, and 
received his particular attention. 

2. The following letter was received just as this 
paper was going to press : — 

"Port au Prince, April 12th, 1825. 

" Sir, — With pleasure I embrace this favorable 
opportunity to write to you, to inform you that we 
have arrived safe, and are all well. We have been 
kindly received, and are doing tolerably well at 
present, on the president's plantation. We are all 



316 BLESSED FEELINGS. 

satisfied, for the present, except Adam. Please to 
write to our people, and direct them to send their 
letters to you ; and please, when you receive them, 
send them to us. When you write, we all wish 
our particular respects presented to them. 
" Your humble servant, 

" Margaret Patterson 
"Mr. B. Lundy." 

3. A highly esteemed female correspondent, 
speaking of the recent benevolent conduct of David 
Patterson, stated that she visited his dwelling on 
the day when his slaves set out for Baltimore, and 
gave the following account of the solemn parting. 

4. " The impressive scene was now about to be 
closed. Solemn concern rested on the face of the 
mistress, at parting with those to whom her foster- 
ing care had contributed so much. I saw the lib- 
crated captive receive her hand with sobs and tears; 
and I must confess that my own eves could scarce- 
ly retain or reabsorb the crystal treasure, forced 
from its cell by this act of justice. 

5. " Seriousness pervaded the countenances of 
many spectators. The master, after taking a sol- 
emn leave, walked into his house with a cheerful 
mien (blessed were his feelings !) that seemed to 
say, 4 I have washed my hands in innocence, and 
can now sit down under mv own vine in peace.'" 

C. This worthy couple have long been members 
of the Baptist Society ; and often said they could 



EXTRAORDINARY MUNIFICENCE. 317 

not rest easy until something should be done for 
the enlargement of their slaves. May we not in- 
dulge the hope that this is a " breaking of the ice" 
in this frozen state ? Or must we stand chilled, 
and look in vain for another couple, that shall come 
under the refining power of truth, and go and do 
likewise ? 



EXTRAORDINARY MUNIFICENCE. 

FROM THE GENIUS OF UNIVERSAL EMANCIPATION — 1 825. 

A paragraph has lately gone the round of the 
papers, announcing that a gentleman of Virginia 
had emancipated upward of eighty slaves, and 
chartered a vessel to send them at his own expense 
to Hayti, but without giving the name of the au- 
thor of so distinguished an act of munificence. 

2. We think it due to justice, says the Norfolk 
Herald, to supply this deficiency, and to add the 
following facts, which have been communicated to 
us by gentlemen familiar with them, as well as 
by Captain Russell, one of the owners of the brig 
Hannah and Elizabeth, of Baltimore, the vessel 
chartered. 

3. The gentleman who has thus distinguished 

himself, is Mr. David Minge, of Charles City 

county, living near Sandy Point, on James River. 

27* 



318 EXTRAORDINARY MUNIFICENCE. 

Captain Russell informs, that there were put on 
board the Hannah and Elizabeth, eighty-seven col- 
ored people of different ages, from three months to 
forty years, being all the slaves Mr. Minge owned, 
except two old men, whom he had likewise manu- 
mitted, but who being past service, he retains and 
supports them. 

4. The value of these negroes, at the prices now 
going, might be estimated at about twenty-six 
thousand dollars ! and Mr. Minge expended, pre- 
vious to their embarkation, about twelve hundred 
dollars in purchasing ploughs, hoes, iron, and other 
articles of husbandry for them ; besides providing 
them with several suits of clothes to each ; provis- 
ions, groceries, cooking utensils ; and every thing 
which he supposed they might require for their 
comfort during the passage, and for their use after 
their arrival out. He also paid sixteen hundred 
dollars for the charter of the vessel. 

5. But Mr. Minge'u munificence does not end 
here. On the bank of the river, as they were about 
to go on board, he had a peck of dollars brought 
down, and calling them around him, under a tree, 
he distributed the heard among them, in such sums, 
and under such regulations, that each individual 
did, or would, receive seven dollars. 

6. By this provision, Mr. Minge thought his em- 
igrants would be enabled to commence the culti- 
vation of the soil immediately after their arrival, 
without being dependent on President Boyer for 



EXTRAORDINARY MUNIFICENCE. 319 

any favor whatever, unless the permission to im- 
prove the government lands be so considered. 

7. Mr. Minge is about twenty-four or twenty- 
five years of age, unmarried, and unincumbered 
in every respect ; possesses an ample fortune, and 
has received the benefits of a collegiate education 
at Harvard University. He assigned no other 
motive for having freed his slaves, and for his sub- 
sequent acts of generosity toward them, than that 
he conceived it would be doing a service to his 
country to send them out of it ; that they had been 
good servants, but that he was rich enough without 
them. 

8. We have heard of splendid sacrifices at the 
shrine of philanthropy ; aged men, on quitting the 
stage of mortal existence, have bequeathed large 
endowments to public charities, and princely lega- 
cies to religious and moral institutions. Cut where 
shall we find an instance of the kind attributable to 
a man of Mr. Minge'a age ? The case we believe 
is without a parallel. 

9. In addition to the fact of the emancipation of 
eighty slaves, by Mr. Minge, of Virginia, the Rich- 
mond Whig of Friday last, says, that two in- 
stances of the triumph of philanthropy and patriot- 
ism, over the sordid selfishness of our nature, can 
be recited, equally meritorious and splendid as that 
act of distinguished munificence. 

10. The Rev. Fletcher Andrew, an ordained 
minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, re- 



320 KIDNAPPING. 

ceived from the bounty of a dying relative, twenty 
slave?, at that time valued at ten thousand dollars. 
Shortly after he attained the age of twenty-one 
years, although they constituted nearly the whole 
of his worldly property, this amiable and pious 
man generously emancipated every one of them. 
And Mr. Charles Crenshaw, a farmer, residing in 
the neighborhood of Richmond, has recently man- 
umitted all the slaves he owned, amounting alto- 
gether to sixty. 



KIDNAPPING. 

FROM THE NEW YORK SPECTATOR — 1826. 

The Mayor of Philadelphia recently received a 
letter from Mississippi, stating the arrival of a kid- 
napper, by the name of Ebenezer F.Johnson, with 
three negro boys, and one negro woman for sale — 
the three former having been kidnapped and stolen 
from Philadelphia. The woman was a slave taken 
from Virginia. 

2. The boys have fallen into the hands of a 
humane protector, and will probably be reclaimed. 
The mode by which they were entrapped was this. 
A mulatto man engaged them singly, to help bring 
melons on .shore from a sloop ; and when they 
went on board, they were taken below — seized, 
confined, and carried off. 



TEMPTATION RESISTED. 321 



TEMPTATION RESISTED, AND HONESTY 
REWARDED. 



A poor chimney-sweeper's boy was employed at 
the house of a lady of rank, to sweep the chimney 
of the room in which she usually dressed. When 
finding himself on the hearth of a richly furnished 
dressing-room, and perceiving no one there, he 
waited a few moments to take a view of the beau- 
tiful things in the apartment. 

2. A gold watch, richly set with diamonds, par- 
ticularly caught his attention, and he could not for- 
bear taking it in his hand. Immediately the wish 
arose in his mind, "Ah! if thou hadst such a one !" 
After a pause, he said to himself, " But if I take it 
I shall be a thief; and yet," continued he, " nobody 
would know it ; nobody sees me — nobody ! does 
not God see me, who is present every where V 
Overcome by these thoughts, a cold shivering seiz- 
ed him. " No," said he, putting down the watch ; 
" I would much rather be poor, and keep my good 
conscience, than rich, and become a rascal." At 
these words, he hastened back into the chimney. 

3. The lady, who was in the room adjoining, 
having overheard the conversation with himself, 
sent for him the next morning, and thus accosted 
him : " My little friend, why did you not take the 



322 TEMPTATION RESISTED. 

watch yesterday V The boy fell on his knees, 
speechless and astonished. " I heard every thing 
you said," continued her ladyship ; " thank God 
for enabling you to resist this temptation, and be 
watchful over yourself for the future : from this 
moment you shall be in my service : I will both 
maintain and clothe you: nay, more, procure you 
good instruction, which will assist to guard you 
from the danger of similar temptations." 

4. The boy burst into tears ; he was anxious to 
express his gratitude, but could not. The lady 
strictly kept her promise, and had the pleasure of 
seeing this poor chimney-sweeper grow up a good, 
pious, and intelligent man. 

5. An Indian, being among his white neighbors, 
asked for a little tobacco to smoke, and one of 
them, having some loose in his pocket, gave him 
a handful. The day following, the Indian came 
back, inquiring for the donor, saying he had found 
a quarter of a dollar among the tobacco. Being 
told that as it was given him he might as well keep 
it, he answered, pointing to his breast, " 1 got a 
good man, and a bad man here, ami the good man 
say, ' It an't yours ; you must return it to its own- 
er :' the bad man sav, ' Why he gave it you, and it is 
your own now :' the good man say, ' That's not 
right ; the tobacco is yours, not the money :' the 
bad man say, ' Never mind, you got it, go buy 
some dram :' the good man say, ' No, no, you must 



TEMPTATION RESISTED. 323 

not do so :' so I don't know what to do, and I think 
I go to sleep ; but the good man and the bad keep 
talking all night, and trouble me ; and now I bring 
the money back I feel good.'* 

6. Another Indian related, that having got some 
money, he was, on his way home, tempted to stop 
at a tavern and buy some rum : " But," said he, 
pointing to his breast, " I have a good boy, and a 
bad boy here ; and the good boy say, ' John, don't 
you stop there :' the bad one say, ' Poh ! John, 
never mind, you love a good dram :' the good boy 
say, ' No, John, you know what a fool you made 
yourself when you got drunk there before, don't do 
so again.' When I come to the tavern, the bad 
boy say, ' Come, John, take one dram ; it won't 
hurt you :' the good one say, ' No, John, if you 
take one dram, then you take another :' then I 
don't know what to do, and the good boy say, 
'Run, John, hard as you can' — so I run away: 
and then, be sure, I feel very glad." 



324 THE GOOD OLD INDIAN. 



THE GOOD OLD INDIAN. 

Captain James Smith relates, that he was taken 
prisoner by the Indians in the year 1755, and lived 
several years among them. At one time, he lived 
with an old man named Tecaughretanego, and his 
little son, Nunganny ; they were quite alone, and 
there were not any inhabitants for many miles 
around. The old man was too lame to go out a 
hunting ; it was winter; they had no victuals ; the 
snow was on the ground, and so frozen, as to make 
a great noise when walked on, which frightened 
away the deer, and the captain could not shoot any 
tiling for some time. 

2. He says, " After I had hunted two days 
without eating any thing, and had very short allow- 
ance for some days before, I returned late in the 
evening, faint and weary. When I came into our 
hut, the old man asked what success. \ told him 
not any. He asked me if I was nol very hungry. 
I replied, that the keen appetite seemed in some 
measure abated, bin I was both faint and wear) , 

.'3. "He commanded his little son to bring me 
something to eat ; and he brought me a kettle with 
some bones and broth. After eating a few mouth- 
fuls, my appi tit violently returned, and I thought 
the victuals had a mosl agreeable relish, though it 
was <">nlv fox and wild* it bones, which lay about 



THE GOOD OLD INDIAN. 325 

the ground, which the ravens and turkey buzzards 
had picked ; these Nunganny had collected, and. 
boiled until the sinews that remained on them 
would strip off. I speedily finished my allowance ; 
and v hen I had ended my street repast, the old 
man asked me how I felt. I told him I was much 
refreshed. 

4 " He then handed me his pipe and pouch, and 
told me to take a good smoke. I did so. He then 
said he had something of importance to tell me, if 
I was now composed and ready to hear it. I told 
him I was ready lo hear him. lie said, 'The 
reason why I deferred my speech till now, is, be- 
cause few men are in a right humor to hear good 
talk when they are very hungry, as they are then 
generally fretful and discomposed ; but as you now 
appear to enjoy calmness and serenity of mind, I 
will communicate to you the thoughts of my heart, 
and (hose things I know to be true. 

5. " 'Brother, as you have lived with the white 
people, you have not had the same advantage of 
knowing that the great Being above feeds his 
people, and gives them their meat in due season, 
as we Indians have, who are frequently out of pro- 
visions, and yet are wonderfully supplied, and that 
so frequently, that it is evidently the hand of the 
Great Spirit that does this : whereas, the white 
people have commonly large stocks of tame cattle, 
that they can kill when they please ; and they also 
have barns and cribs, filled with grain, and there- 

28 



326 THE GOOD OLD INDIAN. 

fore nave not the same opportunity of seeing that 
they are supported by the Ruler of heaven and 
earth. 

6. " ' Brother, I know you are now afraid that we 
will all perish with hunger, but you have no just 
reason to fear this. I have been young, but I am 
now old. I have been frequently under the like 
circumstances that we now are, and some time or 
another, in almost every year of my life ; yet I 
have hitherto been supported, and my wants sup- 
plied in time of need. 

7. " ' Brother, the Good Spirit sometimes suffers 
us to be in want, in order to teach us our depend- 
ance on him, and to let us know that we are to love 
and serve him ; likewise to know the worth of the 
favors that we receive, and also to make us thank- 
ful. 

8. " ' Brother, be assured that vou will be sup- 
plied with food, and that just in the right time : but 
you must continue diligent in the use of means : 
go to sleep, and rise early in the morning, and go 
a hunting — be strong, and exert yourself like a 
man, and the Great Spirit will direct your way.'" 

9. The captain was thus encouraged to try 
again the next morning, though much disheartened 
and extremely hungry. He went a great distance 
before he could shoot any thine; but at length, he 
shot a buffalo cow : thus finding, as the good old 
Indian had said, that the Great Spirit enabled him 
to provide for them just at the time of their distress. 



FAITH OF A POOR BLINDi WOMAN. 327 



FAITH OF A POOR BLIND WOMAN. 

A person going to see a very aged woman of 
color, found a respectable-looking white girl sitting 
by her, reading the Bible for her. On inquiring of 
the old woman whether she could ever read, the 
visiter was answered, " O yes, mistress, and I used 
to read a great deal in that book, (pointing to a 
Bible very much worn, that lay on the table,) but 
now I am most blind, and the good girls read for 
me; but by and by, when I get on Zion's hill, I 
shall then see as well as any body." 

2. The poor of this world are often found rich 
in faith, and their confidence in the wisdom and 
goodness of a bountiful Creator, strong. How fre- 
quently, on visiting the abodes of the aged and 
the infirm, do we find this verified : one saying, 
when something is handed her, " The Lord has 
sent me this ;" — another, " The Lord put it into my 
heart to be industrious, and lay up something for 
old age ;" &c. 



328 AFRICAN SCHOOLS IN NEW YORK. 



AFRICAN SCHOOLS IX XRW YORK. 

The Clarkson Association, for instructing adult 
females of color, commenced in the spring of 1811, 
and was conducted ten or twelve years by a num- 
ber of young females of the Society of Friends. 
This was the first institution that came under the 
appellation of Sabbath School in this city, where 
there are now so many. 

2. It was taught on that day, because those 
people had generally more leisure to attend, than 
on other days of the week : but these benevolent 
females soon appropriated also one afternoon in the 
middle of the week, for such as were at liberty to 
attend. There were a considerable number of 
aged women, as well as those in the prime of life, 
who learned to read, and rejoiced greatly in the 
acquisition. There were also schools kept by 
young men, for adults of color of the other sex. 

3. The African Free Schools, under the care of 
the Manumission Society in New York, have en- 
gaged the attention of many distinguished persons 
who have visited the city ! and many encouraging 
observations on these schools, have appeared in the 
public prints. 

4. The following remarks are taken from one of 
the daily papers of lb24 : — M We had the pleasure 



AFRICAN SCHOOLS IN NEW YORK. 329 

of attending the annual examination of the scholars 
of the ' New York African Free School ;' and we 
are free to confess that we never derived more 
satisfaction, or felt a deeper interest in any school 
exhibition. The male and female schools were 
united on this occasion, and the whole number pres- 
ent was about six hundred. The exercises of the 
scholars were commenced by an address spoken 
by one of the lads ; in which were included thir- 
teen lines from Cowper, in favor of liberty, begin- 
ning with 

' For there is yet a liberty unsung.' 

5. " The examinations were in reading, writing, 
arithmetic, a critical examination in American Ge- 
ography, and a grammar class ; with a recitation ot 
several appropriate pieces, and an exhibition of 
work done by the females in their department : 
(this branch of their education is under the care of 
a committee of females, annually appointed by the 
trustees of those schools, whose business it is to 
visit the school once or more every week.) 

6. " The articles exhibited, made within the past 
year, are as follows : — Shirts, 93 ; pillow cases, 
61 ; sheets, 7; cravats, 49; towels, 23; handker- 
chiefs, 15 ; wristbands and collars, 25 pairs ; dress- 
es for scholais, 13 ; fine samplers, 9 ; bench covers, 
1 pair; pocket books, 2 : — knitting, 27 pairs of 
children's socks ; 26 pairs of suspenders ; 7 pairs of 
stockings, and 6 pincushions. These specimens 

28" 



330 AFRICAN SCHOOLS IN NEW YORK. 

of knitting and needlework all appeared to much 
advantage. 

7. ".The number in this department is 154 ; of 
which there are 56 acquainted with making gar- 
ments and marking, and 42 with knitting socks, 
stockings, suspenders, &c. ; the remainder are 
progressing in those branches. Of this school, 
Eliza J. Cox is teacher, and Charles C. Andrews 
of that for boys. The whole scene was highly in- 
teresting, and we never beheld a white school, of 
the same age, (of and under fifteen,) in which, 
there were more order, neatness of dress, and clean- 
liness of person. 

8. " The exercises were performed with a 
degree of promptness and accuracy, that was 
surprising. We could plainly perceive, (notwith- 
standing what is asserted to the contrary,) that the 
effects of education were as visible upon the coun- 
tenances of these children, as they are upon those 
that are white. Their countenances, beaming with 
intelligence, and the liveliness of their spirits, with 
their apparent h'appihe'ss, were subjects of univer- 
sal remark. There were two or three Southern 
gentlemen present, and we should have been pleas- 
ed had there been many more. 

9. " There is one remarkable fact, connected 
with the effects of this excellent school upon the 
moral condition of the blacks. At every term of 
the court of sessions in this city, there are many 
blacks convicted of crimes, and sent to the state 



AFRICAN SCHOOLS IN NEW YORK. 331 

prison or penitentiary. This school has now been 
in operation a number of years, and several thou- 
sands of scholars have received the benefits of a 
good thorough English education, and but three 
persons, who have been educated here, have been 
convicted in our criminal courts. 

10. " This single fact speaks volumes in favor 
of education, and endeavoring to improve the con- 
dition of this unfortunate class of people. It is the 
cultivation of the mind and the heart, which teaches 
them to be honest, makes them quiet and orderly 
citizens, and leads them to a knowledge of the 
means whereby they may obtain comfort in this 
life, and happiness in the life to come." 

11. Several girls, who have received their edu- 
cation at this school, have gone with their parents 
to Hayti, where they will be capable of teaching 
schools and may be of singular benefit. Two in- 
teresting letters, written in a very fair intelligible 
hand by one of these girls about fourteen years 
old, have been received by E. J. Cox ; extracts 
from which are here subjoined. 

"Republic of Hayti, City of St. Domingo, Sept. 29, 1824. 

" Dear Teacher, — With pleasure I hasten to 
inform you of our safe arrival in St. Domingo, after 
a passage of twenty-one days. Mother and myself 
were very much afflicted with sea-sickness, for 
about nine or ten days, but after that we enjoyed a 
little of the pleasures of our voyage. 



332 AFRICAN SCHOOLS IN NEW YORK. 

13. " On our arrival, we were conducted by the 
captain of the port to the governor's house, where 
we were received by him with all the friendship 
that he could have received us with, had we been 
intimately acquainted for years. After informing 
him of our intention of residing on the island, we 
were conducted to the residence of the second 
general in command, where we had our names 
registered. 

14. "From thence we went to see the principal 
chapel in the city ; to give a description of which, 
it requires a far abler pen than mine ;" (she how- 
ever mentions many particulars ;) "but you cannot 
form an idea of it, unless you could see for your- 
self. After we had viewed the church through- 
out, we wore conducted to our lodging, at which 
place we are at present. Since we have been here, 
my sampler and bench cover have been seen by a 
number of ladies and gentlemen, and have been 
vcrv much admired by all who have seen them. 

15. " Dear teacher, notwithstanding we are hun- 
dreds of miles from each other, I hope you will not 
think^hat I shall forget you, or those kind friends 
(I mean the trustees) who have been so kind to 
me : for had it not been for them and yourself, per- 
haps T never should have known one half what I 
do, as respects my education ; for which, for them 
and you, to God I shall offer up my humble pray- 
ers for your welfare, both in this life, and that 
which is to come. 



AFRICAN SCHOOLS IN NEW YORK. 333 

16. " Please to give my kind respects to Mr. 
Andrews, and my love to all my schoolmates. 
Father, mother, and brothers, join in love witlr me 
to you and Mr. Andrews. 

"P. S. — Please to get three yards of fine white 
canvas, three yards of fine yellow, three sets of 
knitting needles, and two skeins of blue worsted — 
which I forgot. Mother has enclosed four dollars 
for the same. 

" I am, with respect, yours, 

" Serena M. Baldwin." 

" Republic o/Hayti, City of St. Domingo, June 30, 1825. 

"Dear Teacher, — 1 received your letter, dated 
November 11th, 1824, and was truly happy to hear 
from you. The canvas, worsted, and books, I re- 
ceived also ; for which I thank you kindly. The 
advice that you have given me, I shall cherish in 
my bosom, and hope the impression it will make 
there, shall be such as time never can destroy. 

18. "Although we are separated from each 
other hundreds of miles, I shall ever consider it my 
duty to adhere to your advice ; especially when it 
is such as concerns my eternal welfare. Among 
your good wishes, you wish I may live to enjoy 
freedom. Dear teacher, if ever there was a coun- 
try where Liberty dwells, it is here. It is a bless- 
ing enjoyed alike by all men, without respect to 
fortune or color — it cannot be otherwise, as our 
motto is, ' Liberty and Equality.' 



334 AFRICAN SCHOOLS IN NEW YORK. 

19. "As respects our situation, it is a pleasant 
one. Picture to yourself a farm a quarter of a 
mile from the city, containing about twelve acres 
of even land, in the centre of which stands a little 
white cottage, surrounded by all kinds of fruit 
trees that the island produces, besides vegetables 
of every kind, which we have raised since we have 
been here. Add to these, two cows, one calf, 
geese, ducks, and upward of one hundred chickens, 
and I am certain you will agree with me, in saying 
our situation is truly pleasant. 

20. " On New-Year day, which is the anniver- 
sary of our independence, we went to the parade, 
where the troops were assembled in the public 
square at an early hour." After mentioning divers 
particulars, she concludes with saying, " At ten 
o'clock, the inhabitants, with one accord, retired to 
their respective homes, without the least noise or 
tumult. Thus passed the day of Haylian inde- 
pendence. My parents join with me in love to 
you and Mr. Andrews, &c. 

" Serena M. Baldwin." 

Extracts from letters from Charles W. Fisher (formerly of Balti- 
more) to his father, written at Cape Haytien in IS'25. 

" You wish to know how I am likely to make 
out to live in this country. I have received a 
plantation from the government, and find the soil 
good for tillage, and its productions good for food. 
We have plenty of vegetable food, though meat is 



AFRICAN SCHOOLS IN NEW YORK. 335 

not procured in such abundance here as in Amer- 
ica. Many of ihe emigrants are dissatisfied on 
that account : they are impatient, and indulge in 
complaints, like the children of Israel, when in 
the wilderness, not knowing the good prospect 
that awaits them. Every one that will patiently 
bear a little privation at first, can live here, and 
do well." 

22. " I am in good health, and the production of 
my land is in good order, yielding coffee, corn, 
sweet potatoes, yams, bananas, oranges, pine- 
apples, cotton trees in abundance, and oil trees. I 
ha*ve 2000 bearing coffee trees, besides young 
ones too numerous to mention. My plantation is 
eight miles from the city of Cape Hayti. I come 
to town every Saturday, to hear news from Amer- 
ica and the price of coffee. As soon as I get my 
coffee in, I shall send you a hundred I pounds to 
try it." 



336 NEW YORK AFRICAN 



NEW YORK AFRICAN SCHOOL FOR BOYS. 

COMMUNICATED TO THE COMPILER. 

In the African school for boys, in Mulberry- 
street, a class has long been established, which is 
perhaps the only one of the kind in the city of 
New York. It is composed of such boys as arc 
the best behaved, and most advanced in their learn- 
ing, say in arithmetic, as far as the Rule of Three. 
They are distinguished in school, by a medal sus- 
pended to the neck, on which are engraved the 
words, " Class of Merit.'" 

2. This class has a regular meeting once a 
month, to transact business, and to hear the reports 
of standing and other committees. It is allowed 
one hour each session to conduct its business. Its 
officers are a chairman, secretary, register, and 
treasurer. The class, by a vote, determines in 
what branch of learning a member shall excel, to 
entitle him to the chair at the next succeeding 
meeting — the teacher always deciding. I have 
seen some specimens of penmanship, map draw- 
ing, composition, both in prose and verse, the per- 
formance of those lads, the result of this laudable 
emulation. 

3. The chairman preserves order and decorum 
at the meetings of the class ; the secretary records, 
in a neat manner, their proceedings ; the register 



SCHOOL FOR BOYS. 337 

enters in his book the names, qualifications, char- 
acter, and other particulars, of every member 
when admitted ; and the treasurer collects the vol- 
untary contributions* of the members at every 
stated meeting. On the admission of a new mem- 
ber, he is addressed by the chairman, and re- 
ceived in due form, in presence of the whole 
school. 

4. The class appoints a committee at each 
stated meeting, whose duty it is to take notice of 
the general deportment of the members when out 
of school, and to report to the class, if they dis- 
cover any thing in the conduct of a member im- 
moral, or unbecoming ; and the member so report- 
ed, is dealt with in such manner as the circum- 
stances of the case may require ; such as suspen- 
sion, expulsion, or otherwise : even reproof by the 
chairman has been known to have a very striking 
effect. 

5. Another committee observe the appearance of 
the members, as it respects cleanliness, and report, 
if occasion require ; and a third is called the 
Health Committee, who, on hearing of the sick- 
ness of any member, visit him, and render ser- 
vices of kindness, and report on such subjects at 
every regular meeting. 

* These contributions chiefly consist of school tickets of rewaraN 
bearing a nominal value, which the teacher receives for cash, and 
places to the credit of the class. These funds, with the consent of 
the teacher, are disposed of by the class in purchasing books for 
the library, &c. 

29 



338 NEW YORK AFRICAN 

6. I now subjoin an instance of the good effect 
of this juvenile tribunal. Some time ago, at a 
meeting of the class, held then in the back part of 
the school room, one of the members was observed 
by the teacher to be in considerable trouble. The 
rest of the class were seated, and the chairman 
was standing in the attitude of addressing this 
poor fellow, who it appeared had been doing 
wrong. The scene being one which interested 
the teacher, he walked toward the class, and the 
following dialogue took place : — 

7. Teacher. May I be permitted by the chair- 
man, to ask, what is the cause of the grief which 
seems to afflict this member of the class ? (point- 
ing to the boy in tears.) 

8. Chairman. Yes, sir. He has been reported 
by the Standing Committee, as having made use 
of bad language out of school; it has been proved 
against him here, and he has been sentenced by 
the class, to be reproved by the chairman in this 
manner. 

9. Teacher. It is a serious sentence, and a still 
more serious crime which has occasioned it ; but 
I perceive that the offender is in great distress. 
Have you gone through with what you intended to 
say to him ? 

10. Chairman. No, sir; I have considerable 
yet to say to him. 

11. Teacher. Shall I request one more indul- 
gence, and that m behalf of poor William ? (the 



SCHOOL FOR BOYS. 339 

name of the offender :) I wish to speak a few 
words to him. 

12. Chairman. By all means, sir. 

13. Teacher. How is this, William; did you 
not know that it was very wicked, as well as offen- 
sive to your classmates, thus to transgress ? 

14. William. O, yes, sir, (the tears all the 
while streaming down his cheeks,) I know it was 
very wrong — hut do pray, sir, please to ask the 
class to forgive me ; I will never be guilty of the 
crime again — I know I have disgraced myself, and 
I am very sorry — I have done very wrong. Can't 
I be forgiven ? 

15. It appears that this was spoken with so 
much earnestness as to affect the whole class, and 
a readiness to forgive seemed evident in every 
countenance. The teacher then, turning to the 
chairman, asked him if he could, with propriety, 
dispense with saying any thing further to William 
than to express his forgiveness, on condition of a 
promise that he would be more careful in future. 

16. The chairman (a boy of fourteen years of 
age) bowed assent ; and handing back to the little 
penitent his medal, of which he had been deprived 
on conviction of guilt, he expressed the forgive- 

m 

ness of the class in a becoming manner. Poor 
William, still in tears, thanked his teacher for in- 
terceding for him, resumed his seat, and soon ap- 
peared greatly relieved. 

One of the Tristees. 



340 SNOW STORM. 



SNOW STORM. 

Several persons of color, among whom was 
one about nineteen years old, having been toward 
the south side of Long Island on a frolic, were 
returning home across Hempstead Plains, on the 
morning of the 3d of 4lh month, 1825, when there 
was a violent snow storm, — and the snow, being 
deep in many places, had drifted so as to make 
travelling very difficult and tiresome. 

2. The youth, complaining of cold and fatigue, 
was helped by his companions some distance, but 
finding themselves unable to get him along through 
the snow, which had become very wet and heavv, 
one of them agreed to stay with him until the 
other two should seek a conveyance to some shel- 
ter. They accordingly left those two, and pursued 
their way as fast as they could. They were 
obliged to travel a considerable distance before 
they could obtain the desired object, and when ihey 
returned, the unhappy youth had expired. 



QUASHI. ' 341 



QUASHI. 

T. Branagan, in his Essay on Slavery, makes 
the following remarks : " To illustrate my asser- 
tion, that the Africans, no less than ourselves, are 
capable of gratitude and resentment, friendship 
and honor, I give the following well-attested rela- 
tion : — 

2. " Quashi was, from his childhood, brought 
up in the same family with his master, and was 
his constant playmate. As he was a lad of con- 
siderable abilities, he rose to be an overseer under 
his master, when he succeeded to the plantation. 
Still he retained for his master the tenderness 
which, in childhood, he felt for his playfellow. 
The respect for his new master was softened by 
that tender affection, which the remembrance of 
their juvenile intimacy still kept alive in his breast. 

3. " He had no separate interest of his own ; to 
promote his master's interest, not only while he 
was present, but when he was absent, was his con- 
stant study. Nay. in his master's absence, he re- 
doubled his diligence, that his interest might sus- 
tain no injury from it. There was, in short, the 
most intimate, strong, and seemingly indissoluble 
union between them, that can subsist between a 
master and his slave. 

4. " His master had discernment to perceive 

29' 



342 quasui. 

when he was well served, and policy to reward good 
behaviour. But, unfortunately for his faithful ser- 
vant, if he conceived a fault committed, he was in- 
exorable. Even when there was only an apparent 
cause of suspicion, he was too apt to allow preju 
dice to usurp the place of proof. Something hap- 
pened on the plantation, which Quashi could not 
explain so as to clear himself to the satisfaction of 
his master, and he was threatened with the shame- 
ful, as well as painful punishment of the cart 
whip ; and he knew his mnster too well to doubt 
of the execution of his threatening. 

5. "It is well known in the West Indies, that a 
negro who has grown to manhood, without under- 
going the punishment of the cart whip, is apt to 
feel a pride in the smoothness of his skin ; and is 
at greater pains to escape the lash from this, than, 
perhaps, from any other consideration. 

6. " It is not uncommon for a slave, when he is 
Hogged, or threatened with it, for what he reckons 
no fault, or if any, a very trifling one, to stab him- 
self. Such is the sense of honor, which some of 
them entertain, that, rather than be disgraced, they 
would choose to die. 

7. " Dreading this mortal wound to his honor, 
Quashi secretly withdrew from his master. It is 
not unusual for slaves, when they are afraid of 
punishment, to apply to some friend of their mas- 
ter's to intercede for them. Such mediation a 
humane master readily accepts in the case of some 



quashi. 343 

trifling offence. Of this custom, Quashi intended 
to avail himself. 

8. " To save the glossy honors of his skin, he 
resolved to hide himself, until he should find an 
opportunity of a friend to advocate his cause. He 
lurked among his master's negro huts, and his fel- 
low slaves had too great a regard for him, to dis- 
cover to his master the place of his retreat. In- 
deed, it is almost impossible to prevail with one 
slave, in any such case, to inform against another. 

9. " It happened, that at this time his master's 
nephew became of age, and, for the celebration of 
the event, a feast was to be made. This oppor- 
tunity Quashi determined to improve ; hoping, that 
amid the good humor and festivities of the dav, 
he might be able, through the intervention of aa 
advocate, to obtain the reconciliation of his master. 

10. "But most unhappily, before he could exe- 
cute his design, perhaps at the very time he was 
setting out to solicit the aid of a mediator, his 
master happened to be walking in the fields, and 
discovered him. Quashi, the moment he was dis- 
covered, ran off; and his master pursued him : but 
just as his master stretched out his hand to lay 
hold of him, he struck his foot against a stone or 
clod, and fell. 

11. " They fell together, and both being stout 
men, they struggled hard for the mastery. After a 
severe conflict, in which each was several times 
uppermost, Quashi sealed himself on his master's 



344 QUASHI. 

breast, now panting and almost out of breath, and 
with his weight and one of his hands, kept him so 
fast that he could not move. He then drew out a 
sharp knife, and, while the other lay in awful sus- 
pense and agitation, he accosted him thus : — 

12. " ' Master, I was bred up with you from my 
infancy ; I was your playmate while you and I 
were boys ; I have loved you as myself; your in- 
terest has been my daily care ; I am innocent of 
the fault of which you suspect me. Had I been 
guilty, my attachment to you might have pleaded 
for me. Yet you have condemned me to a pun- 
ishment, of which, were it inflicted, I ever must 
bear the disgraceful marks. In this way only can 
I avoid them.' Uttering these words, he drew the 
knife, with all his strength, across his own throat, 
and fell down dead, on his master, bathing him in 
his blood." 

13. Another instance of arbitrary power in the 
slaveholder, he mentions being a witness to, in 
Grenada: — "A sucking infant was, with more 
than brutal barbarity, forced from its mother's 
breast, to return no more to her, and because she 
struggled to keep it, which natural affection irre- 
sistibly prompted her to do, she was flogged with 
great severity !" 



EXHORTATION OF AN INDIAN. 345 



EXHORTATION OF A MEXICAN INDIAN TO 

HIS SON. 

FROM WINTERBOTHAM'd AMERICA. 

"Mv son, we know not how long Heaven will 
grant to us the enjoyment of that precious gem 
which we possess in thee ; but however short the 
period, endeavor to live exactly ; praying God con- 
tinually to assist thee. He created thee ; thou art 
his property. He is thy father, and loves thee still 
more than I do : repose in him thy thoughts, and 
day and night direct thy sighs to him. Reverence 
and salute thy elders, and hold no one in contempt. 
To the poor and distressed be not dumb, but rather 
use words of comfort. Honor all persons, particu- 
larly thy parents, to whom thou owest obedience, 
respect, and service. 

2. " Mock not v my son, the aged or the imper- 
fect. Scorn not him whom thou seest fall into 
some folly or transgression, nor make him re- 
proaches ; but restrain thyself, and beware, lest 
thou fall into the same error which offends thee in 
another. Go not where thou art not called, nor 
interfere in that which does not concern thee. En- 
deavor to manifest thy good breeding, in all thy 
words and actions. 

3. " In conversation, do not lay thy hands upon 



3iG EXHORTATION OF AN INDIAN. 

another, nor speak too much, nor interrupt or dis- 
turb another's discourse. When any one is dis- 
coursing with thee, hear him attentively, and hold 
thyself in an easy attitude, neither playing with 
thy feet, nor putting thy mantle to thy mouth, nor 
spitting too often, nor looking about here and there, 
nor rising up frequently, if thou art sitting; for 
such actions are indications of levity and low 
breeding." 

4. He proceeds to mention several vices, which 
are to be particularly avoided ; and concludes with 
•—"Steal not, nor give thyself to gaming; other- 
wise thou wilt be a disgrace to thy parents, whom 
thou oughtest to honor for the education they have 
given thee. If thou wilt be virtuous, thy example 
will put the wicked to shame. No more, my son : 
enough lias been said in discharge of the duties of 
a father. With these counsels I wish to fortify 
thy mind. Refuse them not, nor act in contradic- 
tion to them, for in them thy life, and all thy hap. 
piness depend." 



THE INJURED AFRICANS. 347 



THE INJURED AFRICANS. 

FROM THE NEW YORK OBSERVER — 1826. 

In our paper of the 21st of January, we inserted 
a communication from a correspondent, giving an 
account of an aged colored woman, who emigrated 
with her husband from New Orleans to this city 
last summer, bringing with her another colored 
woman whom she had rescued from slavery at the 
expense of her little all. The object of these poor 
people in coming to New York, was simply to en- 
joy the privileges of the gospel without interrup- 
tion. 

2. A benevolent gentleman of our acquaintance, 
whose feelings were much interested in the ac- 
count which we published, and who has since re- 
peatedly visited this interesting family, has put into 
our hands the following particulars of their history 
for publication. The name of the husband is 
Reuben, that of his wife, Betsey, and that of their 
companion, Fanny. 

3. " Reuben Madison, the husband, was born in 
Virginia, near Port Royal, about the year 1781. 
His parents, and all his connections in this country, 
were slaves. His father died when he was about 
seven years old. His mother is now living in 
Kentucky, enjoying freedom in her old age, 
through the filial regard of Reuben, who purchased 



34S THE INJURES AFRICANS. 

her liberty for seventy dollars. She is seriously 
disposed, but not a professor of religion. 

4. " He has now eight brothers and sisters liv- 
ing in Frankfort, Franklin county, Kentucky, all 
slaves, and all, excepting one, members of a Baptist 
church in that place. About a year after his con 
version, Reuben was married to a slave, who had 
been kidnapped in Maryland, and sold to a planter 
in his neighborhood. She was also hopefully 
pious. 

5. " While they lived together, 6he became the 
molher of two children ; but about four years after 
their marriage, she and one of the children, aged 
eight months, were sold without his knowledge, 
and transported to a distant Spanish territory, and 
with so much secrecy, that he had no opportunity 
even to bid her a last farewell. ' This,' said he, 
' was the severest trial of my life, a sense of sin 
only excepted. I mourned and cried, and would 
not be comforted. 

6. " 'After several months, however, the hope 
of meeting her and my children again in the king- 
dom of God, when we should never be separated, 
together with a promise from my master that I 
should at some future time go to see her, in some 
measure allayed my grief, and permitted me to en- 
joy the consolations of religion.' The other child 
is now a slave in Kentucky, though the father has 
often endeavored in vain to purchase his freedom. 

7. " About Bll years since, having hired his time 



THE INJURED AFRICANS. 349 

of his master for five years previous, at 120 dollars 
a year, Reuben succeeded, by trafficking in rags, 
and in other ways, in collecting a sum sufficient 
for the purchase of his own freedom, for which he 
paid 700 dollars, and not only so, but he was ena- 
bled, with his surplus earnings, to build a brick 
house, and to provide it with convenient accommo- 
dations. By the dishonesty of his former master, 
however, all was taken from him. 

8. " Thus stripped of his property, he left Ken- 
tucky and went to New Orleans, that he might 
learn something from his wife, and, if possible, find 
and redeem her ; but he only succeeded in gaining 
the painful intelligence that she was dead. He 
there formed an acquaintance with his present 
wife, whose former name was Betsey Bond, and 
they were soon married. The circumstances of 
her life were briefly these : — 

9. " Betsey was born a slave, near Hobbs's 
Hole, Essex county, Virginia, about 1763, and was 
married to a slave at about the age of twenty 
years. By him she had three children, one of 
which, together with her husband, died a few years 
after their marriage. Soon after their death, she 
was led to reflect on her lost state as a sinner, and 
after about seven months of deep anxiety, was ena- 
bled, as she trusts, to resign herself into the hands 
of her Saviour, and experience those consolations 
which he deigns to grant to the broken-hearted 

penitent. 

30 



350 THE INJURED AFRICANS. 

10. " She gained the confidence and attachment 
of her mistress, who treated her with much kind- 
ness, and she was married to a pious servant of the 
family, where she remained about nine years. At 
the close of this period, a planter from the vicinity 
of Natchez, coming to Alexandria, in Virginia, 
where she then lived, for slaves, she was sold, and 
carried, with eight others, to his plantation, leaving 
her husband behind. 

11. " Her new master treated her with great 
severity, and she was compelled to labor almost 
incessantly every day of the week, Sabbath not 
excepted, to save herself from the lash. With this 
man she lived nineteen years. He then died, and 
left his slaves, by will, to another planter, who also 
dying soon after, she was again sold, and transport- 
ed to New Orleans, where she arrived about the 
year 1812. 

12. "At the end of two years, this master also 
died ; and when his slaves were about to be sold, 
Betsey succeeded with some difficulty in hiring 
her time, and in a little more than a year, by wash- 
ing and other labor, she acquired sufficient proper- 
ty to purchase her freedom, for which she paid 250 
dollars. Her youngest son and his wife being also 
slaves in New Orleans, she hoped to obtain, by her 
industry and economy, money sufficient to pur- 
chase them also ; but their master refused to part 
with them. 

13. "About six years ago, a large number of 



THE INJURED AFRICANS. 35] 

slaves were brought to New Orleans from Vir- 
ginia, and were about to be offered for sale, and 
Fanny was among the number. Having accident- 
ally become acquainted with her, previous to the 
sale, and finding her a sister in Christ, Betsey's 
feelings were deeply interested, and she resolved 
to purchase her, and to treat her not as a slave, 
but as a child and companion. 

14. " This determination she communicated to 
Fanny, and with the aid of a gentleman she suc- 
ceeded in accomplishing her object. The price 
was 250 dollars. . She paid 200, her all, and ob 
tained a short credit for the remainder. Soon after 
this, her present husband coming to New Orleans, 
as before stated, they were married, and the pay- 
ment for Fanny was then completed. 

15. " By their united industry, they were soon 
able to build a comfortable house, in which they 
set apart a room for religious purposes. Here 
they assembled with others every Sabbath, for the 
worship of God. But being constantly exposed to 
disturbance in their worship, they felt a great de- 
sire to go to a free state, where they might enjoy 
religious privileges unmolested ; where they could 
unite with Christian friends in social prayer and 
conversation, without a soldier with a drawn sword 
stationed at their door. 

16. " They fixed upon New York as the desired 
asylum ; and having arranged their concerns, rent- 
ed their house, and collected their effects, they 



352 THE INJURED AFRICANS. 

engaged and paid their passage, which was seventy 
dollars, and sailed from New Orleans about the 
12th of July, 1S25, with pleasing anticipations, for 
a land of freedom and religious privileges. 

1 7. " They suffered much on the voyage, through 
the cruelty of the captain ;* being exposed without 
shelter, during the whole of the passage, either on 
deck or in the longboat. In consequence of this 
exposure, both of the women were taken sick ; and 
in this condition, they arrived at New York, and 
were landed on the wharf in a land of strangers, 
their money almost expended, and none to com- 
miserate their sufferings. 

18. " After a few days, however, Reuben suc- 
ceeded in obtaining a miserable cellar in Chapel- 
street, at sixty dollars annual rent, where he re- 
mained until quite recently, supporting the family 
in their sickness, by his labor as a shoemaker, and 
by the sale of some of his effects. 

19. " On his arrival at this port, his first act was, 
to grant entire freedom to Fanny, giving her liberty 
to live with him, or to go where she pleased. She 
chose to remain with him ; and she now assists in 
the support of the family by washing and other 



♦ The name of this wretch is Anderson, and the vessel which, he 
commanded at that time was the brig Russel. We are happy to 
K'irii tli ni a benevolent gentleman, who accidentally became ac- 
quainted with his cruelty, prosecuted him soon after his arrival, in 
behalf of the injured family, and received for them damages to the 
amount of forty dollars. — Editor N. Y. Obs. 



THE INJURED AFRICANS. 353 

labor, and nurses her mistress, who is evidently 
declining with the consumption, occasioned doubt- 
less by«ihe severity of her treatment on the pas- 
sage from New Orleans. 

20. " Not being able to pay their rent in ad- 
vance, owing to their sickness and other expenses, 
their landlord not long since compelled them to 
quit their residence ; and they have since been 
obliged to put up with still more miserable accom- 
modations in a cellar in Elm street, where they 
now reside. 

21. " They appear to put their trust and confi- 
dence in God, and express their entire belief that 
all their trials are designed for their good. They 
seem to be one in sentiment and feeling, and to 
manifest a spirituality of mind rarely to be found. 
Every little attention is most gratefully received, 
and the best of blessings are implored on him who 
bestows it. 

22. " With some assistance from the benevo- 
lent, "and with what they may receive from New 
Orleans for rent, it is believed they may be pro- 
vided with a comfortable house, and be introduced 
to those privileges which they so ardently desire. 
No one of the family can read, though they are all 
desirous to learn, and from a little attention which 
their friends have given them, it appears that they 
may be taught without difficulty." 

23. We trust that the mere recital of these facts 
will be sufficient to awaken the sympathy of our 

30« 



354 THE INJURED AFRICANS. 

Christian friends, and to induce immediate meas- 
ures for the relief of the benevolent sufferers. A 
note from our correspondent informs us, th^t with- 
in a few days the health of the sick woman has 
rapidly declined, owing doubtless to her miser- 
able accommodations, and that she is now appa- 
rently in the last stage of the consumption. 

24. In a few weeks at farthest, her spirit will 
ascend to that world where sorrow and sighing will 
cease, and all tears be for ever wiped from her eyes. 
We hope that the little remnant of her days on 
earth will be made happy, and that when she ap- 
pears at the bar of the Great Judge, she will not 
have to speak of white men in the language of ac- 
cusation only. 

25. It is an affecting thought, that the wrongs oi 
this poor woman, which commenced at her birth, 
and were inflicted wiljiout interruption during the 
long years of slavery, still followed her on her pas 
sage to the land of freedom, and have been finally 
consummated in this city, the city of her hopes, 
her fancied asylum from the oppressor. 



SHELTER FOR COLORED ORPHANS. 355 



SHELTER FOR COLORED ORPHANS IN 
PHILADELPHIA. 

This interesting and useful institution has seve- 
ral times been noticed in the columns of "The 
Friend," and some memoirs given of two or three 
of its little inmates, illustrating the happy effects of 
the moral and religious discipline which pervades 
the house. It is a pleasing and refreshing sight to 
the benevolent mind, to see twenty or thirty of the 
little creatures rescued from filth and wretchedness, 
and all the contaminations of wicked example, and 
placed under a course of training calculated to 
prepare them for usefulness in life, and Christian 
hope in the hour of death. 

2. From a knowledge of the Friends who kindly 
act as managers of the economy and order of the 
house, we have reason to believe that it is exceed- 
ingly well conducted ; and there cannot be a doubt 
that the sound principles implanted in the infant 
minds of these fatherless children, will exercise a 
beneficial influence over them through the remain- 
der of life. 

3. When we consider the early and decided 
stand made by our religious society, in favor of the 
oppressed Africans, the kindness and benevolence 
which were afterward shown them by our fore- 
fathers, and their now ''in some places) degraded, 



356 SHELTER FOR COLORED ORPHANS. 

despised, and almost friendless condition, it feels to 
us that the children of Africa still have strong and 
peculiar claims on our sympathies, and that the 
" Shelter for Colored Orphans," especially chal- 
lenges the liberality and benevolence of every 
member of the Society of Friends. 

4. A report of the rise and progress of the insti- 
tution lias recently been published, which we com- 
mend to the notice of Friends, and hope to see ex- 
tracts from it transferred to the columns of " The 
Friend." "We learn that the house at present oc- 
cupied by the society is too small to accommodate 
their orphans, and that a Friend, with noble liber- 
ality, has presented them with a lot for the erection 
of a new building, if the requisite funds can be 
obtained. 



ASYLUM FOR COLORED ORPHANS. 357 



ASYLUM FOR COLORED ORPHANS IN 
NEW YORK, 

An institution similar to that in Philadelphia, established by the 
u Association for the Benefit of Colored Orphans." The follow- 
ing is a copy of their first annua! report : — 

" Amid the various charitable institutions with 
which our city abounds, the colored orphan ap- 
pears to have been neglected, until the autumn of 
1836, when an attempt was made to extend some 
relief to this destitute part of our population, which 
resulted, ere the close of the year, in the formation 
of an association for that purpose. 

2. " It was the design of all interested, to estab- 
lish the society on the basis of enlarged Christian 
charity, without sectarianism or party spirit, and 
entirely independent of the exciting questions that 
have lately agitated the public mind, in relation to 
the colored race. When it is remembered that 
three asylums for white children are liberally sup- 
ported in this city, and that there still remained a 
class excluded from a share in their benefits, with 
souls to be saved, minds to be improved, and char- 
acters to be trained to virtue and usefulness, can 
any one for a moment doubt the necessity for 
establishing such an institution. 

3. " One year has now elapsed since the society 
was organized, and it becomes the duty of the 



358 ASYLUM FOR COLORED ORPHANS. 

managers to render an account of their proceed- 
ings, in doing which they can truly say that their 
efforts have not been unblessed by Him who has 
said, ' Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve 
them alive,' — and his gracious providence has 
never ceased to smile upon their feeble endeavors. 
4. " The concurrence of many persons of wisdom 
and benevolence in the expedience of the under- 
taking, and a number of very liberal donations and 
subscriptions, enabled the association to prosecute 
its plans, and during the winter an attempt was 
made to hire a house for the accommodation of the 
orphans. Such, however, was the force of prejudice, 
that no dwelling could be obtained for the purpose ; 
and thus situated, it became necessary to purchase. 

5. " A suitable building was eventually pro- 
cured, in Twelfth street, near the Sixth Avenue, 
for the sum of nine thousand dollars. The trustees 
of the residuary estate of the late Lindley -Murray, 
granted one thousand dollars toward this purchase, 
which enabled the association to complete a pay- 
ment of three thousand dollars : allowing six thou- 
sand to remain on mortgage. This, while it laid 
the foundation of the institution, completely ex- 
hausted its funds, and the asylum opened, at a time 
of great pecuniary pressure, with an exhausted 
treasury, 

6. " Notwithstanding these adverse circum- 
stances, the managers ventured to admit a few 
children, and engaged a person to take charge of 



ASYLUM FOR COLORED ORPHANS. ,'.oi> 

them. Donations of furniture, provisions, &c, 
were liberally supplied ; and up to this moment) 
' the barrel of meal has not wasted, nor the cruise 
of oil failed^ in their humble household;' 

7. " A promise of five hundred dollars toward 
education, from the Manumission Society, (375 
dollars of which amount has been received,) au- 
thorized the formation of a school, which should 
extend its benefits to colored children indiscrimi- 
nately. During the summer, the day school con- 
tained nearly forty children, but since that time, 
the establishment of two other schools in the neigh- 
borhood has very materially diminished the at- 
tendance. 

8. " The number of orphans has been gradually 
increased, and the managers now have it in their 
power to congratulate their benefactors on having 
extended their fostering care to twenty-nine desti- 
tute children. Several of this number are half- 
orphans, who have been admitted on the same 
terms required in the Half-Orphan Asylum. Most 
of them have been rescued from scenes of misery 
which can be conceived by those only, who are 
acquainted with the extreme wretchedness and 
degradation of the lower class of our colored 
population. 

9. " A few were taken from the alms-house, 
with the cordial approbation of the commissioners, 
where they were found in circumstances under 
which the managers deemed themselves justifiable 



360 ASYLUM FOR COLORED ORPHANS. 

in admitting them into the asylum. It may not be 
improper to mention here, that colored children do 
not participate in the excellent arrangements of the 
Long Island Farms, but arc retained with the 
adults in the crowded buildings at Bellevue. 

10. " The persons employed at present in the 
asylum, are, a respectable colored matron, a teach- 
er, and an assistant in the family. The regulations 
of the house have been few and simple, calculated 
to inculcate a strict regard to cleanliness, order, 
and economy. The food has been plain and whole- 
some ; and many of the children, who, on their 
admission, presented a squalid and neglected ap- 
pearance, have assumed the aspect of health and 
bheerfuluess ; and they have thus far been merci- 
fully exempted from a single case of severe or 
dangerous illness. 

11. "While thus presenting a brief outline of 
their proceedings, which they trust arc but a pre- 
lude to more important results, they would grate- 
fully acknowledge the generous patronage of their 

ds, and the kind and judicious counsel and 
encouragement of the gentlemen who are advisers 
of the board. • 

12. "The infant institution has been sustained 
m a remarkable manner, through a period of great 
public embarrassment ; ami the moderate cxpendi 

- of the house, amounting to only two hundred 
and thirty-four dollars and three cents in seven 
months, is an evidence of the generous manner m 



ASYLUM FOR COLORED ORPHANS. 3G I 

which the necessary supplies of clothing, provi- 
sions, Sec, have been furnished as occasion re- 
quired. 

13. " Encouraged by these indications of a fa- 
voring Providence, they are prepared to persevere 
in the work they have attempted, confident that 
they will not be left without support in an under- 
taking which has claims so numerous and touch- 
ing to the sympathy and favor of the public." 



14. In addition to the donations mentioned, in 
the foregoing report, the association has received, 
from individuals, several hundred dollars, in sums 
varying in amount from one dollar to two hundred, 
and from the estate of the late William Turpin 
nearly seven thousand dollars. It has thus been 
enabled to make a good beginning: yet it is only 
a beginning; for the amount of good that it is now 
able to do, is verv small compared with that which 

ght be done with ample means. 

15. It ia hoped, however, lhat the institution 
will be so well endowed, by the liberality of the 
benevolent, that it will be enabled to extend its 
operations until not a single orphan remains un- 
provided for. And let it be remembered, that 
those who contribute to its funds, confer a benefit 
not only upon the poor orphans, but also upon them- 
selves and the community at large, by preserving 
the objects of their benevolence from becoming 

either an annoyance or a burden. 

31 



362 HENRY BOYD. 



HENRY BOYD. 

FROM THE ANTI-SLAVERY RECORD. 

Henry Boyd* was born a slave in Kentucky. 
Of imposing stature, well-knit muscles, and the 
countenance of one of nature's noblemen, at the 
acre of eighteen he had so far won the confidence 
of his master, that he not only consented to sell 
him the right and, title to his freedom, but gave him 
his own time to earn the money. 

2. With a general pass from his master, Henry 
made his way to the Kenhawa salt works, cele- 
brated as the place where Senator Ewing of Ohio, 
chopped out his education with his axe ! And 
there, too, with his axe, did Henry Boyd chop out 
his liberty. By performing double labor, he got 
double wag< s. In the daytime, he swung his axe 
upon the wood, and for half the night, he tended 
the boiling salt kettles, sleeping the other half by 
thcir side. 

3. After having accumulated a sufficient sum, 
he returned to his master and paid it ever for his 
freedom. He next applieil himself to learn the 
trade of a carpenter and joiner. Such was his 
readiness to acquire the use of tools, that he soon 

• Tins account is taken from the lips of a friend who resided in 
Cincinnati three years ago, (1834,) and had good opportunity to 
know the fn^ 



HENRY BOYD. 363 

qualified himself to receive the wages of a journey- 
man. In Kentucky, prejudice does not forbid mas- 
ter mechanics to teach colored men their trades. 

4. He now resolved to quit the dominions of 
slavery, and try his fortunes in a free state, and ac- 
cordingly directed his steps lo the city of Cincin- 
nati. The journey reduced his purse to the last 
quarter of a dollar; but, with his tools on his 
back, and the consciousness of his ability to use 
them, he entered the city with a light heart. Little 
did he dream of the reception he was to meet. 
There was work enough to be done in his line, but 
no master workman wovdd employ " a nigger." 

5. Day after day,did Henry Boyd offer his ser- 
vices from shop to shop, but as often was he re- 
pelled, generally with insult, and once with a kick. 
At last, he found the shop of an Englishman, too 
recently arrived to understand the grand peculiar- 
ity of American feeling. This man put a plane 
into his hand, and asked him lo make proof of his 
skill. " This is in bad order," said Boyd, and with 
that, he gave the instrument certain nice profes- 
sional knocks with the hammer,till he brought it lo 
suit his practiced eye. 

6. " Enough," said the Englishman, " I see you 
can use tools." Boyd, however, proceeded to dress 
a board in a very able and workmanlike manner, 
while the journeymen from a long line of benches 
gathered round with looks that bespoke a deep 
personal interest in the matter. " You may go lo 



364 HENRY BOYD. 

work," said the master of the shop, right glad to 
employ so good a workman. The words had no 
sooner left his mouth, than his American journey- 
men, unbuttoning their aprons, culled, as one man, 
for the settlement of their wanes. 

7. " What ! what !" said the amazed Englishman, 
" what docs this mean V " It means that we will 
not work with a nigger,"* replied the journeymen. 
" But he is a first-rate workman. v " But we won't 
stay in the same shop with a nigger ; we are not 
in the habit of working with niggers? " Then I 
will build a shanty outside, and he shall work in 
that." "No, no; we won't work for a boss who 
employs niggers. Pay us up, and we'll be off." 
The poor master of the shop turned with a des- 
pairing look to Boyd — " You see how it is, my 
friend, my workmen will all leave me. I am sorry 
for it, but I can't hire you." 

8. Even at this repulse our adventurer did not 
despair. There might still be mechanics in the 
outskirts of the city, who had too few journeymen 
to be bound by their prejudices. His quarter of a 
dollar had long since disappeared, but, by curv- 
ing a traveller's trunk, or turning his hand to any 
chance job, he contrived to exist till he had made 
application to every carpenter and joiner in the city 
and its suburbs. Not one would employ him. By 
this time, the iron of prejudice, more galling than 
any thing h<- had ever known of slaverv, had en- 
tered his soul. 



HENRY BOVT>. 36 



.' 



9. He walked down to the river's bank below 
the city, and throwing himself upon the ground, 
gave way to an agony of despair. He had found 
himself the object of universal contempt; his plans 
were all frustrated, his hopes dashed, and his dear- 
bought freedom made of no effect ! By such trials, 
weak minds are prostrated in abject and slavish 
servility, and stronger ones are made the enemies 
and depredators of society ; it is only the highest 
class of moral heroes that come off like gold from 
the furnace. 

10. Of this class, however, was Henry Boyd. 
Recovering from his dejection, he surveyed the 
brawny muscles that strung his Herculean frame. 
A new design rushed into his mind, and new reso- 
lution filled his heart. He sprang upon his feet, 
and walked firmly and rapidly toward the city, 
doubtless with aspirations that might have suited 
the words of the poet, 

" Thy spirit, Independence, let me share, 
Lord of the lion heart and eagle eye." 

1 1 . The first object which attracted his " eagle 
eye," on reaching the city, was one of the huge 
river boats laden with pig iron, drawn up to the 
landing. The captain of this craft was just in- 
quiring of the merchant who owned its contents 
for a hand to assist in unloading it. "I am the 
very fellow for you," said Boyd, stripping off his 
coat, rolling up his sleeves, and laying hold of the 

31* 



3CG HENRY J.'>V0. 

work. " Yes, sure enough, lhal is the very fellow 
for you," said the merchant. 

12. The resolution and alacrity of Boyd inter- 
ested him exceedingly, and during the four or five 
days in which a flotilla of boats were discharg 
their cargoes of pig iron with unaccustomed di 
patch, he became familiar with his history, with 
the exception of all lhat pertained to his trade, 
which Boyd thought pn. erto : . ep to himself. In 
consequence, our adventurer next found himself 
promoted to the porterehip of the merchant's store, 
a post which he filled to _ 'action. 

13. He had a hand and a head for every tiling, 
and an occasion was not Jong wanting to prove it. 
A joiner was engaged to erect a counter, but fail- 
ing, by a drunken frolic, the merchant was disap- 
pointed and vexed. Ualher in j-assi^n than in 
earnest, he turned to his faithful porter — "Here, 
Henry, you can do almosl any thing, why can't 
you do this job ?" " l\ rh ips I c >uld, sir, if I had 
my tools and the stuff," was the reply. " Your 
toe'- !" exclaimed the merchant in -surprise, for till 
now he knew nothing of his trade. 

1 I. Boyd explained that he had learned the tr 
of a carpenter and joiner, and had no objection to 
try the job. The merchant handed him the money, 
and told him to make as good a coi I - he could. 
The work was done with such promptitude, judg- 
ment, and finish, that his employer broke off a con- 
tract for the erection of a large frame warehouse, 



HENRY BOYD. 367 

which he was about closing with the same me- 
chanic who had disappointed him in the matter of 
the counter, and gave the job to Henry. 

15. The money was furnished, and Boyd was 
left to procure the materials and boss the job at his 
own discretion. This he found no difficulty to 
doing, and what is remarkable, among the numer- 
ous journeymen whom he employed, were some of 
the very men who took off their aprons at his ap- 
pearance in the Englishman's shop! The mer- 
chant was so much pleased with his new ware- 
house, that he proceeded to set up the intelligent 
builder in the exercise of his trade in the city. 

lb\ Thus, Henry Boyd found himself raised at 
once almost beyond the reach of the prejudice 
which had well nigh crushed him. lie built 
houses and accumulated property. While journey- 
men and apprentices were glad to be in his em- 
ployment and to sit at his tabic. He is now a 
wealthy mechanic, living in his own house in Cin- 
cinnati ; and his enemies who have tried to supplant 
him, have as good reason as his friends to know 
that he is a man of sound judgment and a most 
vigorous intellect. 

17. Without having received a day's schooling 
in his life, Henry Boyd is well read in history, has 
an extensive and accurate knowledge of geogra- 
phy, is an excellent arithmetician, is well informed 
in politics, having been for several years a regular 
subscriber to several of the best newspapers pub- 



368 EMANCIPATION IN NEW YORK. 

lished at the west. He is truly public spirited, and 
is remarkable fur his morality, generosity, and all 
those traits which mark a noble character. 

18. Mechanics, who we trust compose a consid 
erable part of our readers, will understand what 
power of mind it required to vault at once from 
the bottom to the top of their ladder. Where is the 
white man who can boast a more difficult perform- 
ance ? Where is the white man, of this or any 
other age or country, who has shown more de- 
cision or energy of character ? And let it be ob- 
served that the narrative illustrates the vincibility 
as well as the strength of American prejudice 
against color. 



EMANCIPATION IN NEW YORK. 

The period fixed by law for the termination of 
slavery in the state of New York, was the 4th of 
Julv, 1827. According to the census of 1820, 
there were 20,279 free persons of color, and 
10,092 slaves in the state ; miking in all 30,371. 

" Say that, in future, negroes shall be blessed; 

Ranked e'en as men, and man's just rights enjoy; 
Be neither sold, nor purchased, nor oppressed ; 
No griefs shall wither, and no stripes destroy." 



A VALEDICTORY ADDRESS. 369 



A VALEDICTORY ADDRESS. 

The following is a Valedictory Address, composed by Andrew R. 
Smith, aged 14 years, and spoken by hiin at an Annual Exam- 
ination, on his and others' leaving the New York African Free 
School, April, 1822. 

Respected Patrons and Friends, — With 
much diffidence, I rise to address you on a subject 
which is of great importance, both to myself and 
to those of my schoolmates who are about to 
leave this school. I feel it my duty, on this 
occasion, to return my humble thanks to those gen- 
tlemen who have so long been and still are, the 
supporters of this valuable institution. I consider 
myself under many and great obligations to you ; 
and my ardent desire and wishes are, that you may 
flourish and prosper in this benevolent undertaking. 

2. To you, my much respected teacher, I am 
greatly indebted. For your kind attention to me, 
while under your care, I most sincerely and hum- 
bly thank you. When I first became your pupil, I 
was ignorant of letters, and learned my A, B, C, 
by means of writing in the sand : since that time, 
I have passed regularly through every class in the 
school, and have had the honor of filling almi St 
every office in the same; and more than this, down 
to the present day, I have had the pleasure of 
enjoying the expressions of approbation of my 
teacher. 



370 A VALEDICTORY ADDRESS. 

3. My books and exercises, exhibited before you 
this day, will, I doubt not, be regarded by you, 
gentlemen, who are trustees of this school, as tes- 
timonials in my favor, that your labor, and that of 
mv preceptor, have not been bestowed upon me 
in vain. 

4. As the various exercises of the day have de- 
tained you some time, it requires me to be short. 
In conclusion, let me remind you, my fellow- 
pupils, who are about to leave with me, that 
we are now entering into a wide field, and that 
we must be industrious and upright to make re- 
spectable members of society ; and to be an honor 
to our parents, we must make such use of our 
learning, as will prove a blessing to ourselves, and 
to the community with which Providence now 
calls us to mix. 



KM) OF PART II. 



PART III. 



SELECTED POETRY. 



THE MORNING DREAM. 

1. 'Twas in the glad season of spring, 

Asleep at the dawn of the day, 
I dreamed what I cannot but sing, 
So pleasant it seemed as I lay. 

2. I dreamed that on ocean afloat, 

Far hence to the westward I sailed ; 
While the billows high lifted the boat, 
The fresh-blowing breeze never failed. 

3. In the steerage a woman I saw, 

(Such at least was the form that she wore,) 
Whose beauty impressed me with awe 
Never taught me by woman before. 

4. She sat, and a shield at her side 

Shed light like a sun on the waves ; 
And smiling divinely, she cried, 
"I go to make freemen of slaves." 

5. Then raising her voice to a strain 

The sweetest that ear ever heard, 



372 SELECTED POETRY. 

She sung of the slave's broken chain, 
Wherever her glory appeared. 

6. Some clouds, which had over us hung, 

Fled, chased by her melody clear, 
And methought, while she liberty sung, 
'Twas liberty only to hear. 

7. Thus, swiftly dividing the flood, 

To a slave-cultured island we came, 
Where a demon her enemy stood, 
Oppression his terrible name. 

8. In his hand, as a sign of his sway, 

A scourge, hung with lashes, he bore, 
And stood looking out for his prey. 
From Africa's sorrowful shore. 

9. But soon as, approaching the land, 

That goddess-like woman he viewed, 
The scourge he let fall from his hand, 
With blood of his subjects imbued. 

10. I saw him both sicken and die, 

And the moment the monster expired, 
Heard shouts that ascended the sky. 
From thousands with rapture inspired. 

11. Awaking, how could I but muse 

At what such a dream should betide ! 
But soon my ear caught the glad news. 

Which served my weak thought for a guide: 

12. That Britannia, renowned o'er the waves, 

Poi the hatred she ever has shown 
To the black-sceptred rulers of slaves, 
Resolves to have none of her own. 

Cowpeb. 



SELECTED POETRY. 373 



REAL SORROWS. 

A SKETCH FROM LIFE. 

"He best can paint them who can feci them most" 

1. 'Tis not the loud, obstreperous grief, 

That rudely clamors for relief — 
'Tis not the querulous lament, 
In which impatience seeks a vent — 
'Tis not the soft, pathetic style, 
Which aims our pity to beguile, 
That can to truth's keen eye impart 
The " real sorrows" of the heart ! 

2. No! 'tis the tear in secret shed 
Upon the starving infant's head ; 
The sigh, that would not be repressed, 
Breathed on the faithful partner's breast ; 
The bursting heart; the imploring eye, 
To heaven upraised in agon\ ; 

With starts of desultory prayer, 
While hope is quenching in despair; 
The throbbing temples' burning pain, 
While phrensy's fiend usurps the brain: 
These are the trails, no art can borrow, 
Of genuine suffering and sorrow ! 

N. Y. Spectator. 
32 






374 SELECTED POETRY. 



PITY THE SLAVE. 

In 1804, A. A., when travelling in Virginia, stopped in the woods 
with her companions to refresh themselves and horses. After 
taking refreshment, she took a solitary walk, when a circum- 
stance occurred which gave rise to the following reflections. 

1. Pensive, lonely, while I wandered 

Dark Virginia's woods among, 

Soon I heard the thrilling locust, 

Stood and listened to its song, 

2. When the sound of human footsteps, 

Soft approaching, caught my ear; 
Quick I started, looked around me, 
Lo! a black boy stood so near. 

3. He from cold could ne'er be sheltered, 

By his garments ragged and bare, 
Yet his looks bespoke good nature 
With a smile as wild as air. 

4. And is this the land of Freedom. 

Soon my throbbing heart rejoined, 
While the poor afflicted negroes 
Still in letters hard they bind ? 

5. Sad disgrace to human nature — 

And must England bear a part ? 
Cast away the shameful traffic, 
Prove thou hast a feeling heart, 

6. That, aroused by thy example, 

Columbia too may break the chain, 
Nor the mournful sons of Afric, 
Longer curse your lust of gain. 



SELECTED POETRY. 375 



THE NEGRO MOTHER. 

1. Thus, unsuspecting, innocent, and free, 

Sleep, sleep, poor babe, thy mother watcheth thee ; 
With fond and anxious heart, she sees her boy, 
All health and loveliness, her pride and joy. 
When from her labor, toiling 'neath the sun, 
As his decline proclaims hard service done, 
With hastening step, she to her darling flies, 
And folds it in her arms, and kissing sighs. 

2. And now methinks I hear her weeping say, 

" O ! would to God I ne'er had seen the day ! — 

Yes, thou, alas ! art born the white man's slave ! 

I'd rather lay my Draco in his grave, 

Sooner, a victim to disease and death, 

Would hear thee draw thy last and parting breath, 

Than feel, and know, that thou must also be, 

Or styled at least, a tyrant's property." 

3. Again she sobs, a louder strain I hear, 

And these sad accents vibrate on my ear: 

" Must Marion live to see her cherub sold ! 

Her only treasure bartered soon for gold! 

The highest bidder claim thee for his own, 

With heart still harder than the flinty stone, 

With voice of fury, and with arm of power — 

The scourge — the whip — ah me ! that dreadful hour! 

4. Would, would to God, thou never had been born, 

Or had not lived to see that fatal morn ! 
My woes I feel, on thine I cannot look! 
Mine own I bear, but thine I cannot brook! 



376 SELECTED TOETRY. 

Is there no mercy ? — parents, 'tis to you 

That I appeal for justice, while I sue. 

Think, while you clasp your darling to your breast, 

Though now beloved, though now so fondly pressed 

If such a monster watched it for his prey, 

What would your feelings be, O mothers, say .'" 

Eliza. 



THOUGHTS OF HOME. 

Ezra Darby, a man of amiable character ami manners, was a 
member of Congress frum New Jersey, and died ai Washington 
in the year 1809. The following lines were found in his pocket. 

1. The winds, sweeping over the hills, 

With winter incessantly blow ; 
Ice binds up the rivers and rills, 

Earth whitens herself with the snow; 

2. The mildness of summer and spring, 

And autumn's rich foliage are gone; 
The birds have forgotten to sing, 
The Hocks have deserted the lawn. 

3. Far, far from the place of my birth, 

The plain where my mornidg was passed, 
That beautiful section of earth 
Where Fortune my residence cast, 

4. From friends and from borne far away, 

With the half of tnyst If left behind, 

My heart beats in time while 1 

Tin- season accords with my mind. 

5. By Fashion, or Folly, or Fame, 

Or some other phantom assailed, 



SELECTED POETRY. 377 

Perhaps in pursuit of a name, 

Though thousands far better have failed, 

6. I laid by my team and my plough, 

Forsook the sweet cottage of love, 

And came, before great men to bow, 

A clod-hopper statesman to prove. 

7. Surrounded by men of all kinds, 

All colors the earth can produce, 
With all sorts of bodies and minds, 
And fitted for all sorts of use; 

8. Compelled in some squabbles to share, 

To bustle along with the rest, 
My thoughts are all ruffled with care, 
And heaviness presses my breast. 

9. I sigh for that silent repose, 

Which home and home only provides ; 
Those scenes unencumbered with woes, 
Where soothing Contentment presides ; 

10. Where Peace builds her nest with delight, 

Domestic endearments appear, 
Where hearts can in rapture unite, 
And happiness winds off the year. 

11. Alas ! am I here to remain, 

And count the dull minutes away 
Till Winter shall wear out his reign, 
And nature begin to look gay? 

12. Till foliage shall cover the trees, 

The blue bird be seen on the wing? 
Till fragrance shall float on the breeze, 
And perhaps till the whip-poor-will sing? 
32* 



378 SELECTED POETRY. 

13. Then hasten your tardy career, 

Ye moments ! forget your delay ! 
Let Spring in her verdure appear, 
Bring forward the beauties of May. 

14. Let me catch the first note of the grove, 

Take the earliest zephyr that blows, 
To fly to the bosom of love, 
And rest in ecstatic repose. 



TRUE BENEVOLENCE. 

Written on reviewing the condition of .Africa's sable children, who 

« suffer in the land of slavery. 

1. When Jesus dwelt in mortal clay, 
What were his works from day to day. 
But miracles of power and grace, 
That wrought salvation for our race ? 

2. Help us, O Lord, to keep in view 
Thy precept-, and thy steps pursu. : 
Let alms bestowed, lei kindu ss dune, 
Be witnessed by each rolling sun. 

3. That man may &<*, yet never lives, 

Who much reci nt nothing gives — 

Whom none can love, whom none can thank — 
Creation's blot — creation's blank. 

4. But he who marks, from day to day. 

With virtuous act- his shining way. 

Treads the same path bis Saviour trod — 

The path to glory and to God. 
Alabama. L. 



SELECTED POETRY. 379 



AFRICAN SLAVERY. 

1. Hark ! 'tis a groan from Afric's ravaged shores, 

Borne o'er the Atlantic's wave on Fancy's wings ; 
Its sound a tear of sympathy implores, 
And on the gale its sullen sadness flings. 

2. Yes, 'tis the groan of Innocence oppressed 

Beneath vile Avarice' inhuman sway; 
'Tis Nature groaning from her inmost breast, 
With eyes uplifted to the God of day 

3. O ye, whose generous breasts can weeping bend 

O'er the pale victim of despair and pain, 
Your tears with mine in feeling concert blend, 
And mourn with me, man's cruelty to man ! 

4. With me to Afric's desolated coasts, 

To the sad shores of Gambia repair; 
There see the lives of inoffensive hosts, 

Crushed in the jaws of avarice-prompted war; 

5. See Death and Ruin shroud the blood-stained plains, 

Subjecting all to their malignant sway ; 
While uncontrolled, fell Desolation reigns, 
And blood and rapine mark their gloomy way. 

0. O Heaven ! can mankind so resign their hearts 
To the foul clench of lucrative desire, 
As thus for gold to use the vilest arts, 

And feed with human blood the insatiate fire ? 

7. While thus with gore sad Afric's shore they lave, 
Involving all in one ensanguined gloom, 
Heaven sheds a tear on martyred Mercy's grave, 
And weeping angels hover round the tomb. 



380 



SELECTED POETRY. 



NIGHT. 

1. Nicht is the time for rest: 

How sweet, when labors close, 
To gather round an aching breast 
The curtain of repose, 
Stretch the tired limbs, and lay the head 
Upon our own delightful bed! 

2. Night is the time for dreams — 

The gay romance of life, 
When truth that is, and truth that seems, 

Blend in fantastic strife: 
Ah ! visions less beguiling far, 
Than waking dreams by daylight are! 

3. Night is the time for toil — 

To plough the classic field, 
Intent to find the buried spoil 
Its wealthy furrows yield ; 
Till all is ours that sajres taught, 
That poets sung, or heroes wrought. 

4. Night is the time to weep — 

To wet with unseen tears * 
Those graves of memory, where sleep 

The joys of other years — 
Hopes that were angels in their birth, 
But perished young, like things of earth. 

5. Night is ilit> time to watch — 

On ocean's dark expant 
To hail the Pleiades, or catch 

The full moon's earliest glance, 



SELECTED POETRY. 381 

That brings into the homesick mind. 
All we have loved and left behind. 

6. Night is the time for care — 

Brooding on hours misspent, 
To see the spectre of despair 

Come to cur lonely tent ; 
Like Brutus, mid his slumbering host, 
Startled by Cesar's stahvorth ghost. 

7. Night is the time to muse — 

Then from the eye the soul 
Takes flight, and, with expanding views, 

Beyond the starry pole, 
Descries, athwart the abyss of night, 
The dawn of uncreated light. 

8. Night is the time to pray — 

Our Saviour oft withdrew 
To desert mountains far away : 

So will his followers do — 
Steal from the throng to haunts untrod, 
And hold communion there with God. 

9. Night is the time for death — 

"When all around is peace, 
Ca'mly to yield the weary breath, 
From sin and suffering cease, 
Think of heaven's bliss, and give the sign 
To parting friends: — such death be mine ! 

J. Montgomery. 



382 SELECTED POETRY. 



BURIAL OF THE INDIAN GIRL. 

"The only daughter of an Indian woman, in Wisconsin territory, 
died of lingering consumption, at the age of eighteen. A few 
of her own race, and a few of the whites, were at the grave, 
out none wept save the poor mother." 

Herald of the Upper Mississippi. 

1. A wail upon the prairies — 

A cry of woman's wo — 
That mingk'th with the autumn blast, 

All fitfully and low. 
It is a mother's wailing ! — 

Hath earth another tone, 
Like that with which a mother mourns 

Her lost, her only one? 

2. Pale faces gather round her, 

They mark the stonn swell high, 
That rends and wrecks the tossing soul, 

But their cold blue eyes are dry. 
Pale faces gaze upon her, 

As the wild winds catch her moan, — 
But she is an Indian mother, 

So she weeps those tears alone. 

3. Lomz. o'er that wasting idol, 

She watched, and toiled, and prayed; 
Though every dreary dawn revealed 

Some ravage Death had made : 
Till the (leshless sinews started, 

And hope no opiate gave, 
And hoarse and hollow grew her voice, 

An echo from the grave. 



SELECTED POETRY. 383 

4. She was a gentle creature, 

Of raven eye and tress, 
And dovelike were the tones that breathed 

Her bosom's tenderness — 
Save when some quick emotion 

The warm blood strongly sent 
To revel in her olive cheek, 

So richly eloquent. 

5. I said consumption smote her, 

And the healer's art was vain ; 
But she was an Indian maiden, 

So none deplored her pain: — 
• None, save that widowed mother, 

Who now, by her open tomb, 
Is writhing like the smitten wretch 

Whom judgment marks for doom. 

6. Alas ! that lowly cabin, 

That couch beside the wall, 
That seat beneath the mantling vine, 

They're lone and empty all ! 
What hand shall pluck the tall green corn, 

That ripeneth on the plain, 
Since she for whom the board was spread, 

Must ne'er return again ? 

7. Rest, rest, thou Indian maiden! — 

Nor let thy murmuring shade 
Grieve that those pale-browed ones with scorn 

Thy burial rite surveyed; 
There's many a king, whose funeral 

A black-robed realm shall see, 
For whom no tear of grief is shed, 

Like that which fails for thee. 



384 SELECTED POETRY. 

8. Yes, rest thee, forest maiden, 
Beneath thy native tree; 
The proud may boast their little day, 

Then sink to dust like thee ; 
But there's many a one whose funeral 

With nodding plumes may be, 
Whom Nature nor AlTection mourn, 
As now they mourn for thee. 

L. H. Sigodrney. 



THE PRESENT MOMENT. 

1. At every moment, every breath, 
Life trembles on the brink of death; 
A taper's flame that upward turns, 
While downward to the dust it burns. 

2. A moment ushered us to birth, 
Heirs of the common wealth of earth; 
Moment by moment, years are passed, 
And one, ere long, will be our last. 

3. 'Twixt that which struck us into light, 
And that which shall eclipse in night, 
There is a point no eye can see, 

Yet on it hangs etemitj : 

4. God for our portion then we choose, 
Or him for ever then refuse. 
Where is thai point of wo or bliss? 
Gone by I to come? No, here; 'tis this. 

5. This is the moment, which begins — 
Nov let Us cast away our sins: 



SELECTED POETRY. 385 

This is the moment, as it ends, 
Our pain or paradise depends. 

The past is fled, the future not; 
The present is our utmost lot. 
O God ! henceforth our hearts incline 
To seek no other way but thine. 

J. Montgomery. 



THE FIRST PSALM. 

1. The man, in life wherever placed, 

Hath happiness in store, 
Who walks not in the wicked's way, 
Nor learns their guilty lore; 

2. Nor from the seat of scornful pride, 

Casts forth his eyes abroad, 
But with humility and awe, 
Still walks before his God. 

3. That man shall flourish like the trees 

Which by the streamlets grow; 
The fruitful top is spread on high, 
And firm the roots below. 

4. But he whose blossom buds in guilt, 

Shall to the ground be cast, 
And like the rootless stubble tossed, 
Before the sweeping blast. 

5. For why? That God the good adore, 

Hath given them peace and rest, 
But hath decreed that wicked men 
Shall ne'er be truly blessed. B. 

33 



386 SELECTED POETRY. 



REMEMBER THE POOR. 

Verses written by the late Divie Bethcne, after returning from 
Church, where a collection had been made for the poor, Nov 
29, 1807. 

1. Why are our hearts so prone to hoard 
The blessings lent us by the Lord ? 
Why can we see a brother feel 

The pangs of want, yet clothe in steel ? 

2. The God who gives, adds this command, 
" To thy poor brother stretch thy hand;" 
But nature, fallen, depraved, and blind, 
For self shuts out the human kind. 

3. The widow's and the orphan's tear 
God sees : their cry assails his ear : 
And he commands us, from on high, 
To wipe that tear, and soothe that sigh. 

4. And can the Lord's commandment fail ? 
Shall not li i-s powerful voice prevail 1 

Yield, yield thy soul to generous bliss; 
" The Lord can give thee more than this." 

5. Yea, even on earth, he'll prove his power 
And as thou givest enlarge thy store; 
And with the grace he will impart, 
Pour joy on thy expanding heart. 

6. That God who says, " My will be done," 
Gave thee, poor soul, his only Son; 
Receive his gift, on him believe; 

Tliou poor one saved, his poor relieve. 



SELECTED POETRY. 387 

7. Earth's miser ! though thy pile be high, 
'Twill soon be lost, for thou must die ; 
The house as narrow as thy heart, 
Shuts out this wealth, thy better part. 

8. The liberal soul, the poor who tends, 
And to their dwellings comfort sends, 
When he ascends the opening sky, 
Finds all his wealth increased on high. 



A DEAR-BOUGHT TOY. 

r 

The following lines, taken from an English publication, are sup- 
posed to have been written by an African prince who arrived in 
England some years ago, and on being asked what he had given 
for his watch, replied, '.'What I shall never be able to recall." 

1. When avarice enslaves the mind, 

And selfish views alone bear sway 
Man turns a savage to his kind, 

And blood and rapine mark his way. 
Alas ! for this poor simple toy, 
I sold a blooming negro boy. 

2. His father's hope, his mother's pride, 

Though black, yet comely to their view; 
I tore him helpless from their side, 

And gave him to a ruffian crew : 
To fiends* that Afric's coast annoy, 
I sold the charming negro boy. 

3. From country, friends, and parents torn, 

His tender limbs in chains confined, 

♦ Slave traders. 



388 SELECTED POETRY. 

I saw him o'er the billows borne 



And marked his agony of mind; 
But still, to gain this simple toy, 
I gave away the negro boy. 

4. In isles that deck the western wave, 

I doomed the hopeless youth to dwell ; 
A poor, forlorn, insulted slave, 

A beast that Christians buy and sell, 
And in their cruel tasks employ : — 
The much-enduring negro boy ! 

5. His wretched parents long shall mourn, 

Shall long explore the distant main, 
In hopes to see the youth return : 

But all their hopes and sighs are vain ; 
They never will the sight enjoy. 
Of their lamented negro boy. 

6. Beneath a tyrant's harsh command, 

He wears away'his youthful prime, 
Far distant from bis native land, 

A stranger in a foreign clime: 
No pleasing thoughts his mind employ, 
A poor dejected negro boy. 

7. But He who "walks upon the wind,", 

"Whose voice in thunder 'a beard en high, 
"\V1id doth tin' miring tempest bind, 

Or wing the lightning through the sky, 
In his own time will -non destroy 
The oppressors of the negro boy. 



SELECTED POETRY- 389 



THE LITTLE CHIMNEY SWEEPER. 

FOUNDED ON FACT. 

1. 'Twas a keen frosty morning, and the snow heavily 

falling, 
When a child of misfortune was thus sadly calling: — 
" Sweep, sweep — I am cold, and the snow very deep ; 
O, pray take compassion on a poor little sweep ! 
Sweep, chimney sweep !" 

2. The tears down his cheeks in large drops were fast 

rolling; 
Unnoticed, unpitied, by those by him strolling, 
Who frequently warned him at distance to keep, 
As he cried, " Take compassion on a poor little sweep ! 
Sweep, chimney sweep !" 

3. In vain he implored passing strangers for pity, 

This smiled at his plaint, and that bantered his ditty : 
Humanity's offspring as yet lay asleep, 
Nor heard the sad waitings of poor little sweep ! 
" Sweep, chimney sweep !" 

4. At the step of a door, half froze, and dejected, 

He sat down and grieved, to be shunned and neg- 
lected ; 

When a kind-hearted damsel by chance saw him 
weep, 

And resolved to befriend him, the poor little sweep! 
"Sweep, chimney sweep !" 

5. Unmindful of sneers, to a neighbor she led him, 
Warmed his limbs by the fire and tenderlv fed him : 

33 # 



390 SELECTED POETRV. 

And, O ! what delight did this fair maiden reap. 
When she found a lost brother, in the poor little sweep 
" Sweep, chimney sweep !" 

6. With rapture she gazed on each black sooty feature, 

And hugged to her bosom the foul-smelling creature; 

Who, saved by a sister, no longer need creep 

Through lanes, courts, and alleys, a poor little sweep. 

"Sweep, chimney sweep!" 

Upton. 



SUSAN AND JACK. 

1. The poor man came home, 'twas a cot on the moor, 
And his children to welcome him stood at the door. 
"Ah. papa! dear papa ! my sister and I 

Ate nothing to-day; but I told her — by and by, 
When the sun was gone down, and one hardly could 

see. 
We should fully be feasted with mamma ami thee." 

2. \- be -aid it. Jack seized on tin' father with joy, 
Who placed on his kmu' the affectionate boy, 
And two or three kisses with fervor impressed, 

As his child with a heart !'n!l of grief he addressed: 
"Dear Jack, when I went in the morning away, 
I thought to briiiLr something at closing of day ; 
But 1 wrought in the snow and the keen biting blast, 
And have brought nothing home hut a brown crust at 
last. 

3. Here. Jack, go divide it with Susan, and share 
All your parents, a pitiful portion, can spare." 



SELECTED POETRY. 391 

He took it, and offered his father a part ; 
But when he said, "No, Jack," it grieved him at heart : 
Then he offered the piece to his mother, hut she 
Said, "'Tis hardly enough for dear Susan and thee." 

4. He threw down the crust, put his hand to his eye, 
And burst into tears, but could hardly tell why. 
And Susan rejoined, 'twould be ten times more sweet, 
If her parents would share it, and with them would eat. 
Then they smiled, and they wept, and divided their 

store — 
A crust of brown bread was a supper for four. 
In the fulness of sorrow they found a relief, 
For Susan and Jack were the joy of their grief. 



RECOLLECTIONS OF CHILDHOOD. 

1. How often I think of the scenes of my childhood — 
The meadows and fields where the wild flowers grew; 

The orchards, the pond, the glade, and the wild wood; 
And the social delights that my infancy knew; 

2. The dew-spangled lawn, and the green grassy mea- 

dow ; 
The copse where the birds warbled sweetly their lay ; 
Where oft, in the wide-spreading trees' ample shadow, 
We fell the sea breeze in the heat of the day. 

3. I remember the road, with its winding and turning; 
The green living hedgerow that skirted the way ; 

The field it enclosed where the brick-kiln was burning; 
And the pits where they dug up the smooth yellow 
clay. 



392 SELECTED POETRY. 

4. And I've not forgot, when a storm was a coming - , 
The hoarse rumbling noise of the waves of the sea; 

The old hollow log where the partridge was drumming, 
And the woodpecker pecking the hollow oak tree. 

5. I remember the old-fashioned mansion we lived in, 
With the bay, and the beach, and the ocean in view; 

The swamp and the brake which the singing birds built 
in, 
And the tree by the lane where the thorn apples grew. 

6. In that old-fashioned house, in this loved situation, 
With small panes of glass, and with clean oaken floors, 

Content was our lot, and no fear of invasion — 
Not a bar, nor a lock, nor a bolt to the doors. 

7. But what was the cause of that tranquil enjoyment ? 
Not the house, nor the fields, nor the prospects so 

rare ; 
Not the orchards, nor pond, nor rural employment; 
But the dearly loved friends of my bosom were there. 

8. And the day that we parted, the heart-rending anguish 
No pen can describe, neither pencil portray; 

To me all the beauties around seemed to languish, 
And all the gay scenes faded quickly away. 

9. Those transient enjoyments, how fair and how fickle ! 
They spring up and bloom like the flowers in May, 

But trouble ami care thrust in the sharp sickle, 
They're cut down, and wither, and die in a day. 

10 But the joys of the faithful are ever increasing, 

Their source is celestial, their Author divine; 

In the truth they rejoice, and their prospects are pleasing, 

In glory and beauty for ever to shine. 

English Paper. 



SELECTED POETRY. 393 



THE ORPHANS. 

1. My chaise the village inn did gain, 

Just as the setting sun's last ray 
Tipped with refulgent gold the vane 
Of the old church across the way. 

2. Across the way I silent sped, 

The time till supper to beguile, 
In moralizing o'er the dead, 

That mouldered round the ancient pile. 

3. There many an humble green grave showed 

Where want, and pain, and toil did rest; 
And many a nattering stone I viewed 

O'er those who once had wealth possessed. 

4. A faded beach its shadow brown 

Threw o'er a grave where sorrow slept ; 
On which, though scarce with grass o'ergrown, 
Two ragged children sat and wept. 

5. A piece of bread between them lay, 

"Which neither seemed inclined to take : 
And yet they looked so much a prey 
To want, it made my heart to ache. 

6. "My little children, let me know 

Why you in such distress appear; 
And why you wasteful from you throw 

That bread which many a heart would cheer?"' 

7. The little boy, in accents sweet, 

Replied, while tears each other chased, 



394 SELECTED POETRT. 

"Lady, we've not enough to eat, 
And if we had, we would not waste. 

8. "But sister Mary's naughty grown, 

And will not eat, whate'er I say, 
Though sure I am the bread's her own, 
And she has tasted none to-day." 

9. "Indeed," the wan starved Mary said, 

" Till Henry eats I'll eat no more ; 
For yesterday I had some bread, 

And he's had none since day before." 

10. My heart did swell, my bosom heave, 

I felt as though deprived of speech, 
I silent sat upon the grave, 

And pressed a clay-cold hand of each. 

11. With looks that told a tale of wo, 

With looks that spoke a grateful heart. 
The shivering boy did nearer draw, 
And thus their tale of wo impart : — 

12. "Before my father went away, 

Enticed by bad men o'er the sea, 
Sister and I did nought but play — 
We lived beside yon great ash tree. 

13. " And then poor mother did so cry. 

And look so changed — I cannot tell ; 
She told us that she soon should die, 
And bade us love each Other well. 

14. "She said that when the war is o'er, 

Perhaps vre might our father see; 
But if we never saw him more, 

That God our father then would be. 






SELECTED POETRY. 

15. " She kissed us both, and then she died, 

And we no more a mother have — 
Here many a day we've sat and cried 
Together on poor mother's grave. 

16. t: But when our father came not here, 

I thought if we could find the sea, 

We should be sure to meet him there, 

And once again might happy be. 

17. "We, hand in hand, went many a mile, 

And asked our way of all we met, 
And some did sigh, and some did smile, 
And we of some did victuals get. 

13. "But when we reached the sea, and found 
'Twas one great water round us spread, 
We thought that father must be drowned, 
And cried and wished we both were dead. 

19. ' : So we returned to mother's grave, 

And only long with her to be; 
For Goody, when this bread she gave, 
Said father died beyond the sea. 

20. " Then since no parents we have here, 

We'll go and seek for God around — ■ 
Lady, pray can you tell us where 

That God, our Father, may be found ? 

21. " He lives in heaven, mother said, 

And Goody says that mother's there; 
So if she thinks we want his aid, 

1 think, perhap?, she'll send him here." 

22. I clasped the prattlers to my breast, 

And cried, "Come,both,and live with me— 



395 



396 SELECTED POETKV. 

I'll clothe you, feed you, give you rest, 
And will a second mother be. 

23. " And God will be your father still ; 
'Twas he in mercy sent me here, 
To teach you to obey his will, 
Your steps to guide, your hearts to cheer n 



DIFFERENCE OF COLOR, 

1. God gave to Afric's sons, 

A brow of sable die, 
And spread the country of their birth 

Beneath a burning sky ; 
And, with a cheek of olive, made 

The little Hindoo child, 
And darkly stained the forest tribes 

That roam our western wild. 

2. To me he gave a form 

Of fairer, whiter clay, — 
But am I, therefore, in his sight, 

Respected more than they 1 
No; 'tis the hue of deeds and thoughts 

He traces in his book ; 
'Tis the complexion of the heart 

On which Ik- deigns to look. 

3. Not by the tinted cheek, 

That fades away so fast, 
But by the color of the soul , 
We shall be judged at last ; 



SELECTED POETRY. 

And God, the Judge, will look at me, 

With anger in his eyes, 
If 1, my brother's darker brow> 

Should ever dare despise. 

L. H. Sigoorney. 



397 



WASHINGTON CITY PRISON, 

1. Thou dark, and drear, and melancholy pile, 
Which seemest, like a guilty penitent, 

To brood o'er horrors in thy bosom pent, 

Until the sunbeams that around thee smile, 
And the glad breath of heaven, have become 
A hatred and a mockery to thy gloom! 

Stern fabric ! I will commune with thee awhile ! 
And from thy hollow echoes, and the gale 
That moans round thy dark cells, win back the tale 

Of thy past history. Give thy stones a tongue, 
And bid them answer me, and let the sighs 
That round thy walls so heavily arise, 

Be vocal, and declare from whence they sprung ; 
And by what passion of intense despair, 
What aching throb of life-consuming care, 

From the torn heart of anguish they were wrung. 

2. Receptacle of guilt ! hath guilt alone 
Stained with its falling tears thy footworn floor, 
When the harsh echo of the closing door 

Hath died upon the ear, and flinging prone 
His form upon the earth, thy chilling gloom 
Seemed to the wretch the sentence of his doom 7 

34 



398 SELECTED POETRY. 

Say, bear'st thou witness to no heart-wrung groan, 
Bursting from sinless bosoms, which the hand 
Of tyrant power hath severed from the band 

Of the earth's holiest and dearest things, 

And thrust amid thy darkness? Speak! declare 
If only the rude felon's curse and prayer, 

Mixed with wild wail and wilder laughter, rings 
Within those dreary walls! Or if there be 
No spirit fainting there with agony, 

That not from its own crimes, but from oppression 
springs ! 

3. Ha ! am I answered ? In that startling cry, 
Bursting from some wild breast with anguish riven, 
And rising up to register in heaven 

Its blighting tale of outrage, the reply 
Was heard distinctly terrible. It sprung 
From a sad household group, who wildly clung 

Together, in their frantic agony, 

Till they were torn by savage hands apart, 

Fond arms from twining arms, and heart from heart 

Never to meet again ! Whet had they done, 
Thou tool of avarice ami tyranny, 
Thai they should thus be given o'er to thee 

And thy guilt-haunted cells ? "Were sire and son, 
Mother and babe, all partner's in one crime 
As dreadful as the late that through all time 

Clings to them with a grasp they may not shun? 

4. No! — let the tab' be spoken, though it burn 
The cheek with shame to breathe it — let it go 
Forth to the winds, that the wide globe may know 

Our vileness. ami the rudest savage turn, 
And point, with taunting finger, to the spot 
Whereon thou stand, m ; that all men may blot 



SELECTED POETRY. 399 

Our name with its deserved taint, and spurn 
Our vaunting laws of justice with the heel 
Of low contumely ; that every peal 

Of triumph may be answered with a shout 
Of biting mockery ; and our starry flag, 
Our glorious banner, may dishonored drag 

Its proud folds in the dust, or only float 
The gales of heaven, to be a broader mark 
For scorn to spit at. O, thou depot dark, 

Where souls and human limbs are meted out 

5. In fiendish traffic ! No ! those weeping ones 
Have done no evil ; but their brother's hand 
Hath rudely burst the sacred household band, 

And given, with heart more flinty than thy stones, 
His victims to thy keeping and thy chains, 
Till he hath sold them! — them, within whose veins 

Blood like his own is coursing, and whose moans 
Are torn from hearts as deathless as his own ! 
And there thou stand'st, where Freedom's altar stone 

Is darkened by thy shadows, and the cry 
That thrills so fearfully upon the air, 
With its wild tale of anguish and despair, 

Blends with the peans that are swelling high, 
To do her homage ! I have sometimes felt 
As I could hate my country for her guilt, 

Until in bitter tears the mood went by. 

Elizabeth M. Chandler. 



400 SELECTED POETRY. 



THE NEGRO'S COMPLAINT. 

1. Oppressed, degraded, not allowed 

To taste the joys that freedom prove, — 
A bondman to the high and proud, 

Whose heart my sufferings cannot mov» 

2. Inured to toil, deprived of rest ; 

From parents, wife, and children torn. 
The tenderest feelings of my breast 
Are treated with contempt and scorn. 

3. Almighty Parent ! thou whose word 

Called eveiy being into birth ; 
Thou who hast formed of kindred blood 
The numerous families of earth ; 

4. Thou who hast sent thine only Son 
To die, that all may come to thee; 
Whose boundless mercy passes none; 
Whose love extends from sea to sea, — 

6. Say, in this land where thousands kneel, 
And call upon thy sacred name, 
Can none the negro' 5 sorrows feel ? 

Will none his woes and wrongs proclaim ? 

6. O! were they all who thus have knelt, 
True, living worshippers of thee, 
How would the negro's wrongs be felt, 
How would the poor oppressed go free ! 

7. Then would the captive mourn no more, 
The weight of his unbroken chain; 



SELECTED POETRY. 401 

Thy sovereign name all would adore, 
And all in peace and glory reign. 

8. And thanks to thee, thou Source of good, 

There is a small, a scattered band,* 
Who nobly for our cause have stood, 
With open heart and outstretched hand. 

9. To you, ye dear and lessening few,f 

We look for comfort and relief; 
To you our gratitude is due, 
You know our rights, and share our grief. 

10. Stay with us ! — O ! desert us not, 

In this our hour of utmost need ; 
Be not our cause by you forgot, 

Still for our wants and sorrows plead. 

11. And may that Power who rules above, 

His choicest blessings shed on you; 
May his unalterable love 
Rest on your souls like heavenly dew. 

12. And when this earthly scene is o'er, 

May you and we together rest, 
Where sin and sufferings come no more, 
Where all are in his presence blessed. 
Virginia, 1834. 

* Friends of the Yearly Meeting in Virginia, 
t By emigration on account of the oppressive system of slavery 
in the land. 

34* 



402 SELECTED POETRY. 



MISSIONS TO AFRICA. 

1. O Afric 1 famed in story, 

The nurse of Egypt's might, 
A stain is on thy glory, 

And quenched thine ancient light. 
Stern Carthage made the pinion 

Of Rome's strong eagle cower, 
But brief was her dominion, 

And lost her trace of power, 

2. And thou, the stricken-hearted, 

The scorn of every land, 
The diadem departed 

Dost stretch thy fettered hand ; 
How long shall misery wring thee, 

And none arise to save ? 
And every billow bring thee 

Sad tidings from the slave? 

3. Is not thy eight of weeping, 

Thy time of darkness o'er? 
Is not Heaven's justice keeping 

Its vigil round thy shore? 
I see a watch light burning 

High on thy mountain tower, 
To guide thy sons returning 

In freedom's glorious power. 

4. Thy pj ramids aspiring, 

Unceasing wonder claim, 
And still the world admiring 
Demands their founder's name ; 



SELECTED POETRY. 403 

But more enduring glory 

Shall settle on his head, 
Who blessed salvation's story 

Shall o'er thy desert spread. 

L. H. SlGODRNEY. 



THE RAINBOW. 

1. The sudden storm has passed away, 
And the resplendent orb of day, 
Sheds once again his smiling ray 

Upon the deepening azure sky; 
While on the dark retreating cloud, 
Folded and thick as sable shroud, 
At once the rainbow's beauties crown 

The heaven-born pomp and brilliancy. 

2. O, how the sun's pure lustre gleams ! 
'Tis like religion's heavenly beams, 
When its descending glory streams 

Upon the weeping world below; 
And, broken thus, its light appears 
As shining through the vale of tears, 
Tinged with our mortal hopes and fears, 

It takes each shade of joy or wo. 

3. The first pale yellow tint of light 

Is trembling Fear, that shrinks from sight; 
But deepening to the saffron bright, 

Its golden ray betokens Joy : 
While Hope assumes the violet hue, 
And holy Love, sublime and true. 
Is marked by that celestial blue 

That knows not earth or earth's alloy. 



404 SELECTED POETRY. 

4. And meek Humility is seen, 

Emblemed upon the modest green; 
While Reason's calm imperial mien 

Upon the purple tinge is shed: 
And spurning even her mild control, 
With light that seems to crown the whole, 
The Zeal that fires the ardent soul, 

Burns brightly in the glowing red. 

5. The splendid tints are fading — gone ! 
The dazzled eye can trace not one: 
It sees the sunny beams alone, 

That in their hueless lustre shine: 
And thus, when this vain scene is o'er, 
And earthly thoughts and passions pour 
Their drops upon its light no more, 
Religion will be all divine! 



THE END. 












CONTENTS. 



PART I. 

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

Francis Williams page 7 

Jasmin Thoumazeau 8 

Ignatius Sancho 9 

Attobah Cugoano 12 

Phillis Wheatley IB 

Poor Sarah 19 

Alice, the Negro . 34 

The Generous Negro 36 

Captain Paul Cuffee 39 

Solomon Bayley 46 

Solomon Bayley's daughter Margaret .... 53 

Solomon Bayley's daughter Leah 55 

Solomon Bayley's Night Thoughts 66 

Clarinda 74 

Naimbanna 82 

Margaret Ann Crutflhfield 94 

The Pequot of a Hundred Years ...... 99 

John Williams 106 

Zilpah Montjoy 110 

Belinda Lucas 114 

Gustavus Vassa ......... 119 

Toussaint L'Ouverture 133 

Billy and Jenny 145 

George Hardy 151 

Cornelius 156 

Simeon Wilhelm 160 

Lacy Cardwell ; 166 

Rebecca Jackson 169 

Stephen Kiah 172 



40G CONTENTS. 






Sarah Draper page 177 

Lott Carey 179 

Notices of Liberia 190 

PART II. 

INTERESTING ANECDOTES. 

Ebedmeleck's Kindness page 195 

The Good Master and his Faithful Slave . .199 

E/.t kiel Coston 202 

An Anecdote 205 

The Colored Foundling 206 

Two Petitions 207 

Louis Desrouleaux 203 

The Grateful Negro 209 

The Faithful Negress 210 

Coffin 211 

Job Ben Solomon ; 212 

Anthony William Amo 213 

Beronicus . 214 

James Derham 214 

The Sweep and the Tombstones 216 

jamin Bannaker ........ 219 

Two Negroes in France 220 

Uncle Harry 222 

CulU I' I'lmii of Washington 231 

Colored Population in Philadelphia 232 

Free People of Color 236 

Colored People in Cincinnati 240 

The Happy N< 241 

Tin Hospitable Negro Woman 216 

Emancipation in the West Indies 250 

Important Project . 258 

Gratitude in a Liberated Slave ... . . 259 

Northern and Southern States contrasted .... 260 

Encouraging Facts 264 

A Colored Infant School 265 

Irronba 266 

Belinda 268 



CONTENTS. 407 

Extract from a Letter from S. G page 269 

A Negro Slave 270 

Agnes Morris 273 

An Anecdote 275 

Maryland Trade 276 

Stephen Dutton : ... 277 

"Man does not feel for Man" 277 

Speculation 278 

Liberality 279 

The Negro Martyr 279 

The African Chief 282 

The Slave Taker 283 

The Two Boys 289 

The Little Bostonian 292 

Extraordinary Exertions-to obtain Liberty .... 294 

The African Boy 296 

Abraham 297 

John Mosely 297 

Nancy Pitchford 298 

William Bowen 299 

Gratitude of a Slave 299 

Epitaph on a Colored Person 300 

Anthony Benezet 301 

Thomas Shipley 304 

Governor Rimer's Message 305 

An Affecting Story 303 

Slave Trade 311 

P-irah Hoar 312 

Blessed Feelings from an Act of Justice .... 315 

Extraordinary Munificence 317 

Kidnapping 320 

Temptation Resisted, and Honesty Rewarded ... 321 

The Good Old Indian . 324 

Faith of a Poor Blind Woman 327 

African Schools in New York 323 

Letters from Hayti 331 

New York African School for Boys 336 

Snow Storm 340 

Quashi 3-11 

Exhortation of a Mexican Indian to his Son . . • 345 



4-.-H 



CONTENTS. 






The Injured Africans 

Shelter for Colored Orphans in Philadelphia 
Asylum for Colored Orphans in New York 

Henry Boyd : 

Emancipation in New York 

A Valedictory Address .... 



page 347 
355 
357 
362 
368 
369 



PART in. 

SELECTED POETRY. 

The Morning Dream page 371 

Real Sorrows 373 

Pity the Slave 374 

The Negro Mother 375 

Thoughts of Home . . 376 

True Benevolence 378 

African Slavery 379 

Night 390 

Burial of the Indian Girl 382 

The Present Moment 334 

The First Psalm 385 

Remember the Poor 386 

A Dear-bought Toy .... 3S7 

The Little Chimney Sweeper 989 

Susan and Jack 390 

Recollections of Childhood 391 

The Orphans . . 393 

Difference of Color . 396 

Washington City Prison 397 

The Negro's Complaint 400 

Missions to Africa 402 

The Rainbow 403 



-1 I9M 



